Afghan intelligence training centre attacked, 3 killed

Kabul, Dec 18 (IANS) Afghan security forces on Monday killed three insurgents who launched an attack on a training centre of Afghanistan's main intelligence agency in Kabul following an operation that lasted about five hours, officials told Efe.

The operation ended at around 3 p.m., although the forces took another hour to clean bullets and other remnants from the site.

"Fortunately we don't have any casualties among civilians and security forces," said Basir Mujahid, spokesperson of the capital's police service, adding: "Their plot to enter the NDS (National Directorate of Security) compound was thwarted by the security forces and they failed."

According to Mujahid, the insurgents had morning tried to launch a direct attack on an NDS building, but were prevented from doing so by the security forces and holed themselves up in a nearby building before being surrounded.

The attackers also had a vehicle loaded with explosives that members of the security forces safely detonated during the operation, Mujahid added.

Afghan Ministry of Interior Affairs spokesperson Nasrat Rahimi said that three attackers were involved and confirmed that all of them have been killed in the operation.

He added that two members of the security forces were slightly injured during the operation.

The attack has been claimed by the Islamic State terror organization, according to a message by its affiliated Amaq news agency, which said two insurgents carried out the attack.

The Afghan capital has witnessed a number of major insurgent attacks this year.

A month ago, at least 17 people, including eight police officials, were killed and 18 were wounded in a suicide attack at the entrance of a hotel in northwestern Kabul.

The worst attack in the Afghan capital since 2001 took place in May, when a truck loaded with explosives left 150 people dead and over 300 wounded.

Since the end of NATO's combat mission in Jan. 2015, Kabul has been steadily losing ground to insurgents and now controls only 57 percent of the country, according to the US Special General Inspector for Reconstruction of Afghanistan.