Taliban operatives kill 20 in Afghanistan

KABUL — Moments before the assault, the Taliban operatives pulled out their mobile phones and sent three text messages.

The men, armed with guns and grenades, asked their militant leaders in Pakistan for one final blessing. Then they unleashed a coordinated assault Wednesday morning on the Justice Ministry, the Education Ministry and a correctional department, killing 20 people and wounding 57, Aghan officials said.

The audacious attack in the heavily fortified capital underscored the reach of the Taliban outside their mountainous strongholds and the challenges President Barack Obama will face as he increases America's focus — and troop levels — in Afghanistan.

The assault came just one day before a planned visit by Richard Holbrooke, Obama's special envoy to the region, and reinforced the perception that security in Afghanistan is rapidly deteriorating. Security analysts tracking daily attacks say numbers have spiked this year, and militants now control wide swaths of Afghan countryside.

At the Justice Ministry, five men with assault rifles and hand grenades stormed the downtown Kabul compound, killing two guards. Ministry guards shot and killed one attacker, but the rest entered the building and opened fire on workers. They killed 10 employees and a police officer.

Ministry workers jumped out of second-floor windows to escape the advancing gunmen.

"I came out of my office to see what was going on, and I saw a man with an AK-47 shooting at every employee he saw in the hall," said ministry employee Nazir Mohammad, who shook as he spoke.

Security forces ended the three-hour siege by climbing ladders to force their way into building, killing the remaining four attackers.

Only a half mile down the road, an attacker in a suicide vest tried to force his way into the Education Ministry, but ministry guards shot him dead before he could enter.

Meanwhile, across town, two attackers in suicide vests entered a correctional department compound. Guards killed one attacker, but the other entered the building and blew himself up, killing six police and wounding 29, Interior Minister Hanif Atmar said.

According to the account 19 people, not including the attackers, were killed in the assault although officials set the number at 20. Twenty-one suspects were detained.