At least 43 people were killed and 20 were wounded after gunmen attacked a government building in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Monday, AFP reported. Around 350 people who were trapped in the building at the time of the incident were freed, according to the news agency.
Interior Ministry spokesperson Najib Danish said security forces killed three attackers during a seven-hour standoff with the gunmen. A fourth blew himself up outside the Ministry of Public Works. The gunmen then stormed the building of the National Authority for Disabled People and Martyrs’ Families, taking civilians hostage.
Ministry of Public Works spokesperson Mehdi Rohani said he and his colleagues fled to a safe room soon after as the attack began.
The attack comes after reports said United States President Donald Trump has decided to withdraw 7,000 American troops from the country. Monday’s attack was the biggest in Kabul since November 28, when the Taliban detonated a vehicle bomb outside the compound of a British security firm, killing at least 10 people.
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