Rocket Fire Kills 17, Hurts 80 in Kabul

KABUL, Afghanistan —  A barrage of rockets shook Kabul on Sunday, killing at least 17 people and wounding 80 others, witnesses and officials said. It was one of the worst assaults on the Afghan capital in months.

No one took responsibility for the attack, but the rockets came from north of the city, where forces loyal to ousted military chief Ahmed Shah Masoud are based.

The fighters are battling the Taliban army, which controls about 90% of Afghanistan, ruling the nation with a strict version of Islam.

A broadcast by Taliban-run Radio Shariat said 21 people were killed in the attack Sunday. The discrepancy in the death toll was not immediately explained.

The worst barrage shattered a northern Kabul neighborhood, with one rocket slamming down in front of a crowded bus. Taxi drivers and soldiers grabbed the seriously wounded and rushed them to hospitals as dozens of others lay bleeding and pleading for help.

“We don’t know how many more Afghans will be killed by Afghans. . . . For how many years can this war drag on?” said Ghulam Sakhi, a shopkeeper who was hiding in a basement with about a dozen others.

The first attack of the day occurred at dawn, killing a 15-year-old boy and wounding his father.

An assault in the early afternoon hit a residential area near the combined military and civilian airport. A child was killed and 11 people were injured when rockets rained down on their homes.