Kabul "under control" after brazen Taliban assault

How does Karzais New Cabinet members feel , now that the Taliban have attempted to " Disrupt " the swearing in cerimonies ( Attempted to kill them ) ?
And all those pesky shoppers got what they deserved again , They Can't just go around Shopping and having a decent time , when the Talibanz is fighting for the sake of Allah , I mean seriously ! (Sarcoff)


KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban gunmen launched a brazen assault on targets in the center of Kabul on Monday, With suicide bombers blowing themselves up at several locations and heavily armed militants fighting a pitched battle in a shopping center.

The insurgents failed in an apparent attempt to seize government buildings, but demonstrated their ability to cause mayhem at a time when U.S. President Barack Obama is trying to rally support for an expanded military mission to fight them.

It was the worst attack on the city in nearly a year. Gunfire and loud explosions shook the city and a huge column of smoke towered over its center, pouring out of the shopping center where gunmen battled security forces for hours.

After more than four hours of gunbattles, President Hamid Karzai said in a statement that "the security situation is under control and order has once again been restored."

The Taliban said 20 of their fighters were involved in the attacks, which they said targeted the presidential palace, justice ministry, ministry of mines and a presidential administrative building, all clustered in the center of town.

When the attacks began outside Karzai's sprawling palace compound, he was inside swearing in new members of his cabinet.

"As we were conducting the ceremony of swearing in, a terrorist attack in a part of Kabul close to the presidential palace is going on. This is just one of the dangers," Karzai told ministers. "The danger that could harm Afghanistan is sowing national discord among Afghans."

U.S. envoy to the region Richard Holbrooke, who had left Kabul hours earlier for New Delhi, said: "The people who are doing this certainly will not survive the attack nor will they succeed, but we can expect this sort of a thing on a regular basis. That is who the Taliban are."