DAILY NEWS: Taliban strikes kill four and injure at least 29 in 'stable' Herat

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Civilians and Italian soldiers among the casualties as militants' summer offensive intensifies in western Afghanistan

Taliban insurgents have attacked the western Afghan city of Herat on Monday, killing four civilians, injuring at least 20 others and wounding nine Italian soldiers.

Considered one of the most stable parts of the country, Herat is scheduled to be transferred to local security control over coming months.

The attack involved a suicide attack on a crowded crossroads and a car bomb detonated at the gates of a base where Italian soldiers guard a "provincial reconstruction team" dedicated to development work, local officials said.

A group of insurgents then opened fire on the base from nearby buildings.

The situation was described as "under control" , although the attackers had not been found, Dr Daoud Shah Sabah, the governor of Herat, said. The Italian base is located near a residential area, into which the insurgents were thought to have fled.

The Taliban has intensified its summer offensive in recent days: a police chief was killed and a Nato general was wounded in a bombing in north Afghanistan at the weekend.

A Nato spokesman said nine Italian soldiers had been wounded. The official Italian news agency put the number of Nato casualties at 15.

The Taliban leadership has issued instructions to commanders on the ground to avoid civilian casualties. "Strict attention must be paid to the safety of civilians during spring operations," a statement in April said.

A Taliban spokesman, Qazi Yusef Ahmadi, claimed responsibility for the attack on Herat.

Seven areas are due to transfer to local security control in a process that will start in the coming weeks and is scheduled take up to 18 months. Most are urban areas such as Herat. Western combat troops are due to leave Afghanistan by 2014.

In a separate incident, a soldier with the Afghan National Army was reported to have shot a NATO soldier in the central Oruzgan province.Meanwhile a bomb in the city of Khost was due to local feud, the city police chief said.

Jason Burke

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Jamie Jackson 31 May, 2011

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/30/taliban-herat-afghanistan
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