Taliban claim responsibility for attack on minister’s compound in Kabul

An attack near Afghanistan’s main security agency in Kabul resulted in three people being wounded Wednesday after a bomb and gun attack on a minister’s compound created a Taliban war zone in the capital, Reuters reported.

The blast comes after a car bomb and gun attack was initiated on the home of Defense Minister Bismillah Mohammadi on late Tuesday, the news agency reported. While the Taliban claimed responsibility for the first incident, there is no immediate claim for the Wednesday attack. Mohammadi survived the attack.

The group targeted the minister’s home because an important meeting was underway, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said, according to Reuters. 

Government forces reportedly fought off the attackers for four hours. At least eight civilians were killed and 20 others were wounded during the violent exchange, according to the Ministry of Interior, Reuters noted. An emergency was declared in Lashkar Gah as special forces and U.S. air support retrieved reinforcements. 

“Special forces have been sent to the area,” Afghan armed forces spokesman Gen. Ajmal Omar Shinwari told the news outlet. “They are in good morale.”

The United Nations said Tuesday that at least 40 civilians were killed in the last 24 hours. 

The attacks come as the U.S. continues to withdraw troops from the country, a decision that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said is the reason for the country’s worsening security situation.