Taliban security guard killed in firing at UN compound in Kabul

File. Security personnel stand guard outside United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan office compound in Guzara district of Herat province on 31 July 2021 (Getty)
File. Security personnel stand guard outside United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan office compound in Guzara district of Herat province on 31 July 2021 (Getty)

At least one person was killed in a firing incident outside a United Nations compound in Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul over the weekend.

The victim was a Taliban guard, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA, said in a statement on Monday.

The security guard was found dead inside the compound after the firing, the agency said, without elaborating how he had died.

One person was also injured.

The reason for the attack, which occurred on Sunday, was not immediately clear and an investigation was underway, UNAMA, which is responsible for administering international aid in the war-torn country, said.

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The compound where the attack took place houses the offices of several UN agencies, funds and programmes as well as accommodations for UN international staff.

The injured person was an international security guard contracted by the UN, the agency said.

He sustained minor injuries and received hospital care. "The UN contracted security guards did not return fire during the incident," UNAMA said in the statement.

Abdul Mateen Qaniee, a spokesperson for the interior ministry, confirmed the casualty as a Taliban security guard and the injured person as a UN contractor.

Authorities had blocked all movement in and out of the UN compound after the incident, but the restrictions were removed on Monday, UNAMA said.

Afghanistan is witnessing a rise in violent incidents, especially in Kabul, where opposition groups claim to have targeted and killed several Taliban commanders in the last few months.

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A suicide attack in December killed senior Taliban minister Khalil Haqqani at the interior ministry office along with five other people. It was the most high-profile assassination involving the group’s leadership since they took control of Kabul three years ago.

The firing at the UN compound came weeks after the new US administration of Donald Trump ordered a halt to foreign aid for 90 days, prompting humanitarian aid leaders to warn of immediate and disastrous consequences for Afghanistan, where relief operations were already stretched thin.