/ 7 May 2011

Gunbattle near Kandahar governor’s compound

Gunbattle Near Kandahar Governor's Compound

Two explosions shook the southern Afghan city of Kandahar on Saturday while gunmen holed up in a five-storey shopping mall traded fire with security forces at the provincial governor’s compound, a Reuters witness said.

One explosion was heard near governor Tooryalai Wesa’s heavily guarded compound in the centre of the city and another blast was heard several minutes later in the west of the city.

Gunfire erupted after the first explosion and the Reuters witness said he could see gunmen firing from the shopping mall and the governor’s compound.

It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion or whether there were any casualties. The Reuters witness said he could see black smoke rising near Wesa’s compound. It was not immediately clear whether the governor was in the compound.

Violence in Afghanistan reached its worst levels in 2010 since the Taliban were overthrown in late 2001, with record casualties on all sides of the conflict.

The Taliban last week announced the start of their “spring offensive”, vowing to scale up their attacks against foreign troops and Afghan government officials.

Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban, has been the focus of military operations over the past year and military commanders have said they have made some security gains but that these were fragile and reversible.

A suicide bomber wearing a police uniform killed General Khan Mohammed Mujahid, the Kandahar police chief, last month. – Reuters