Kabul attack: Islamic State group claims responsibility for deadly Iraqi embassy attack

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on the Iraqi embassy in Kabul that began with a suicide bomb blast at the main gate, allowing gunmen to enter the building and battle security forces.

Key points:

• Gunmen entered Iraqi embassy building, and battled security forces
• Attack kicked off with suicide bomb attack at main gate
• Islamic State says seven guards killed in the attack

The assault came a week after 35 people were killed in a Taliban attack on government workers in Kabul and underlines Afghanistan’s precarious security as the United States weighs an overhaul of its policy in the region.

Afghan security forces confronted three gunmen for hours before the Interior Ministry announced in mid-afternoon that the attack, in a normally busy business district of the capital, had been suppressed.

“Terrorist attack on Iraqi embassy in Kabul over after all terrorists killed,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Islamic State group’s news outlet said two attackers had blown up the gate, killing seven guards, and two fighters had broken into the compound.

Source: Kabul attack: Islamic State group claims responsibility for deadly Iraqi embassy attack – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)