Local forces respond competently to the latest terror attack on Kabul

EARLY on Monday January 17th, just as civil servants were settling to work, the heart of Kabul came under attack from a well-organised team of militants, many rigged up as suicide bombers. They struck at government offices, a shopping centre, a cinema and a hotel frequented by foreigners. But by mid-afternoon the attackers had either self-destructed or been killed by local security forces. The violence left at least 12 people dead (including several attackers) and 71 injured; it also reinforced a growing sense of vulnerability in the Afghan capital.

The attackers were probably from the Haqqani Network, an outfit affiliated to al-Qaeda and based in North Waziristan, in Pakistan. They were blamed for a similar assault in the same part of Kabul last February, but this one was bigger and more ambitious: a Taliban spokesman claimed that 20 fighters had been involved. …