Taliban storm airport complex in Afghan city

Attack coincides with regional conference in Islamabad

KANDAHAR: Taliban militants stormed the airport complex in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar city on Tuesday, triggering gunfights and explosions as a regional conference kicked off in Pakistan with hopes of reviving peace talks with the insurgents.

There was no immediate information on casualties in the ongoing attack, the first major assault after days of fevered speculation that Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor was killed in an internal firefight.



"Several insurgents managed to breach the first gate of the complex," Samim Khpalwak, a spokesman for the Kandahar provincial governor, told AFP. "They have taken up position in a school inside the complex."

Mohammad Mohsin Sultani, the military spokesman in Kandahar, said the exact number of attackers was unclear and Afghan troops were engaged in a heavy gunfight with them. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes a day before Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is due to visit Islamabad for the Heart of Asia regional conference.

"A number of mujahideen martyrdom-seekers equipped with heavy and light weapons entered Kandahar airport and have attacked invading forces," the Taliban said in a statement.



Ghani's willingness to visit Pakistan for the conference, a longtime regional nemesis, has signalled a renewed push to jumpstart peace talks with the Taliban.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9^th,  2015.