950809

16 killed in

rocket attack

on Kabul

KABUL: 16 civilians were killed and 26 wounded when a salvo of long-range rockets rained onto a southwest suburb of Kabul on Wednesday, the first such incident in more than four months, security officials said.

"Eight members of one family alone were killed last night," said commander Abdul Waheed.

A salvo of 21 long-range rockets was fired on the Karte Se district in the early hours from the direction of Taliban-controlled areas, he said.

The exact location where the rockets originated was not clear.

The nearest frontline between Taliban and presidential forces is 35 kilometers south of Kabul at Arghandeh, from where the capital is out of range of the 122mm rockets said to have been used in the attack, analysts said.

Eight houses were hit and destroyed in the barrage, the first since the Taliban were pushed out of Kabul in March, Waheed said.-APP