11 killed in deadly Taliban attack on Afghan governor office

PanARMENIAN.Net - Eleven people, including four Taliban fighters, were killed and more than a dozen others were injured when militants attacked a provincial governor’s compound in western Afghanistan on Thursday, May 17 international media reported, quoting Afghan officials, according to RIA Novosti.

The four assailants, disguised as Afghan police officers and wearing suicide vests, stormed the compound of Farah Province Governor Mohammad Akram Khapalwak at 10 a.m. local time, the New York Times said, quoting provincial police security chief Mohammad Ghaus Malyaar. Those killed were shot dead in a gun battle, and none of the attackers was apparently able to detonate an explosive vest, the report said.

Despite more than a decade of war waged by a U.S.-led international coalition against the Taliban insurgency, attacks by Islamist militants are still frequent in Afghanistan, raising serious concerns about the ability of Afghan security forces to maintain order in the country after foreign troops withdraw in 2014.

Thursday's attack took place just days before a NATO summit in Chicago due on May 20-21, which will focus on the future of Afghanistan and U.S. commitment to continue funding the Afghan National Security Forces beyond 2014.