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2 Killed, 7 Wounded in Attack on Afghan Defense Ministry

   VOA News  April 18, 2011
   An Afghan security official gestures to traffic with a handgun as he
   works to secure a road in front of the Defense Ministry in Kabul,
   Afghanistan, April 18, 2011.

Photo: AP

   An Afghan security official gestures to traffic with a handgun as he
   works to secure a road in front of the Defense Ministry in Kabul,
   Afghanistan, April 18, 2011.

   Afghan officials say a suicide bomber dressed in an army uniform has
   opened fire inside the Defense Ministry in Kabul, killing at least two
   people and wounding seven.
   Authorities say the assailant was killed before he could detonate his
   explosives.
   The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the
   target was French Defense Minister Gerard Longuet. However, French
   officials say Longuet was not in the ministry at the time.
   The incident at the Defense Ministry is the latest in a series of
   attacks by assailants disguised in Afghan military uniforms.
   Elsewhere in Afghanistan Monday, a roadside bomb blast killed six
   police officers.
   Authorities say the police were going to Ghazni city when their car hit
   the bomb.
   The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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