KABUL: The latest Taliban strike in Kabul killed a South African father running an education charity and his two teenage children, officials and the group said yesterday, as the city police chief resigned after a spate of attacks.
With the US-led Nato war against the Taliban nearing its end, the insurgents have targeted foreign guest houses, embassy vehicles, US troops and a female member of parliament in recent weeks.
Partnership in Academics and Development (PAD), a small California-based education group, posted a message on its website saying three people had been killed in Saturday’s attack on its compound.
“The attack... by multiple gunmen included one who detonated a personal explosive device killing three and injuring other staff members,” the website said.
“In the midst of this unprovoked attack, Partnership in Academics and Development remains committed to providing educational resources for Afghan citizens.”
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed on Twitter that the compound was that of a secret Christian missionary group.
“The attackers first shot dead the director as they entered the building,” Zahir said at a press conference.
A family website set up in South Africa in 2003 gave personal details, with birth dates suggesting that the son was 17 and daughter was 15.
Friends in Pretoria and Kabul said the family were deeply Christian but were not missionaries, and that the children’s mother was returning home from a clinic where she worked in the city when the attack happened.
Many international aid workers, diplomats and consultants work in Kabul, but very few are accompanied by their families.
Nato troop numbers in Afghanistan peaked at 130,000 in 2010 but have fallen rapidly since then. Their combat mission ends altogether on December 31.
Fears are growing that the declining international presence is already fuelling the Islamist insurgency.
The mission will be replaced by a 12,500-strong force supporting the Afghan army and police, who have taken over responsibility for thwarting the Taliban.
In Saturday’s attack, a neighbouring building was engulfed in flames as security forces took three hours to hunt down the militants.
On Thursday, the Taliban struck at another foreign guesthouse, wounding a guard, and a suicide bomber targeted a British embassy vehicle in a blast that killed six people.
Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanakzai told AFP that Zahir had resigned on Sunday.
“General Zahir Zahir told the interior ministry he no longer wanted to continue his job. The minister has accepted his resignation,” Stanakzai said.
AFP
