Afghan Security Forces

A sophisticated and wide-ranging assault against the principal symbols of Western power in Afghanistan's capital on Tuesday demonstrated the insurgency's ability to strike with impunity at even the country's most heavily fortified areas. At least six Afghans were reported killed in attacks that skittered across the city, police said, in one of the most high-profile series of strikes in Kabul in the course of the nearly decade-old war. The daytime barrage of rockets and gunfire aimed primarily at the "green zone" — a fortress-like area containing the U.S. Embassy and the headquarters of NATO's International Security Assistance Force, or ISAF, among other facilities — came just two days after the 10th anniversary of the Sept.

Afghan authorities on Wednesday morning said the last of six attackers who laid siege to the U.S. Embassy and other buildings from a high-rise structure had been killed and the area was secure. The midmorning announcement by the Interior Ministry came nearly 21 hours after the start of the attack, raising troubling questions about why it took so long to secure the building under construction that the assailants used as a staging ground. From its upper floors, they rained rockets and gunfire on a heavily fortified enclave containing embassies, government buildings and the headquarters of the NATO force.

Militants used suicide bombers, automatic rifles and rocket grenades to launch an hours-long commando-style raid on a British compound in Kabul on Friday that killed at least eight people. The brazen attack underscored the militants' ability to unleash large-scale assaults even in the heavily secured Afghan capital. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on the compound housing the British Council, saying it was meant to coincide with the anniversary of Afghanistan's independence from Britain 92 years ago. The British Council is an agency funded by Britain's government that fosters the development of education and civil society in other countries.

The message could hardly have been clearer, or more brutally delivered: the beheaded corpse of a respected provincial politician, dumped by the roadside. Jawad Zehak, whose decapitated remains were recovered Tuesday, was the leader of the provincial council in Bamian, perhaps the most peaceful of Afghanistan's 34 provinces. It is one of seven areas across the country where the Afghan police and army are supposed to begin taking over security responsibility next month. Afghanistan's main intelligence service, the National Directorate of Security, swiftly blamed insurgents for Zehak's abduction and killing, and declared it part of a deliberate pattern of intimidation in the areas slated for security transition.

A suicide bomber struck a security gathering in Afghanistan's north on Saturday, injuring a provincial governor and the German commander of foreign troops in the region, and killing at least six people — including two senior Afghan police commanders and two German soldiers, Afghan and coalition officials said. The bombing, which took place inside the heavily guarded governor's compound in Takhar province, was the latest deadly strike by insurgents against government installations in the weeks since the Taliban movement declared the start of its spring offensive.

Fighting erupted for a second day Sunday between Taliban gunmen and Afghan security forces in the southern city of Kandahar, demonstrating the insurgents' determination to maintain a foothold in the city they consider their spiritual home. Afghanistan's Interior Ministry said Sunday that the death toll in clashes that broke out a day earlier had risen to 25 -- all but two of them Taliban fighters. The Taliban brushed aside the lopsided toll, instead boasting that the fighting had all but paralyzed the country's second-largest city.

The Taliban on Saturday declared the start of a spring offensive in Afghanistan, warning that insurgents plan to attack foreign troops, Afghan security forces and government officials in coming days. In a statement, the Taliban warned civilians to avoid public gatherings, military bases and convoys, as well as government buildings. "All Afghan people should bear in mind to keep away from gatherings, convoys and centers of the enemy so that they will not become harmed during attacks of mujahedin against the enemy," the statement said.

The Taliban declared the start of a spring offensive in Afghanistan on Saturday, warning they plan to attack foreign troops, Afghan security forces and government officials in coming days. In a statement, the Taliban warned Afghan civilians to avoid public gatherings, military bases and convoys, as well as Afghan government centers, all of which insurgents plan to attack. The statement comes a day after senior military officials and Western diplomats warned of a surge in militant attacks during the coming week.

Eight U.S. troops and an American contractor were killed early Wednesday when a veteran Afghan military pilot fired on trainers during a meeting in a military compound near Kabul International Airport. The Taliban claimed responsibility in what it said was the latest attack by an insurgent infiltrator. The pilot opened fire about 10 a.m. after an argument with a foreign colleague at a meeting in the operations room of the Afghan air force building, according to statements released by NATO and Afghan officials.

An insurgent dressed as an Afghan soldier opened fire Monday inside the Defense Ministry, killing two soldiers in an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate the Afghan and French defense ministers, officials said. The attacker, who was also armed with explosives, struck the ministry before noon, ahead of a joint press conference the ministers had scheduled. He was shot and killed by Afghan soldiers before he could detonate his explosives, said Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, a Defense Ministry spokesman.