War News for Wednesday, April 03, 2013

Hungary to pull out of Afghanistan this week


Reported security incidents
#1: Suicide bombers disguised as Afghan soldiers attacked a government compound Wednesday in a failed bid to free more than a dozen Taliban prisoners being transferred to court proceedings in western Afghanistan, officials said. At least 10 people were reported killed, including three of the attackers. The assault in Farah province. Six men wearing suicide vests drove into the center of the provincial capital, which has the same name, in Afghan national army vehicles that allowed them to bypass checkpoints, provincial police chief Agha Noor Kemtoz said. Two of the attackers blew themselves up inside one of the vehicles while four others jumped out of the second and ran toward the courthouse and prosecutor’s office, he said. Guards opened fire, killing one of the attackers, while the other three fled to nearby buildings and engaged in a fierce gunbattle that left civil servants and government officials holed up in their offices. Two policemen and three civilians, including a judge and his son, also were killed. The director of public health for the province, Abdul Jabar Shayeq, said 72 people also were wounded, including 12 security forces and 60 civilians.

#2: In other violence, Taliban gunmen attacked a local police patrol late Tuesday in southeastern Paktika province and six insurgents were killed in the fighting, according to a statement from the governor’s office. A roadside bomb then struck a police vehicle as it was leaving the area, killing four patrollers, it said.

#3: Four police officers also were killed and one wounded Tuesday when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in northeastern Kunar province during an operation to clear the area of explosives, government spokesman Wasifullah Wasifi said.