KABUL: Insurgents unleashed a series of new attacks in various parts of Afghanistan, including Kabul, resulting in the loss of nearly 30 lives on Saturday, officials said.
The deadliest attack targeted army soldiers in a camp in Bala Boluk district of western Farah province where, according to sources, all 24 of the security personnel based there were killed in the pre-dawn raid by militants.
Chief Defense Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri confirmed the attack to Arab News, but said that 18 of the 24 soldiers were killed, adding: “I do not know about the casualties among the enemy.”
Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in Farah as well as two separate suicide attacks in southern Helmand province.
A spokesman for the interior ministry in Kabul, Najib Danesh, said militants used vehicles in the two attacks that targeted security forces, in which several lost their lives.
Meanwhile, another suicide attack hit the capital city of Kabul, killing two people and wounding six others, Danesh told Arab News.
The attacker, who was on foot, blew himself up outside an intelligence office near the headquarters of the NATO-led force, other officials said.
Nasrat Rahimi, another spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry, said one of the intelligence officers identified the bomber and leapt at him before he could blow up the explosives attached to his body.
“The casualties could have been very high had the officer not held him tight in his arms,” he told reporters.
No group claimed responsibility for the Kabul attack that came weeks after a similar attack in the same area, which was then claimed by Daesh.
Today’s attack in Kabul comes after a series of high-profile strikes by the Taliban and Daesh in January in which nearly 200 lost their lives.
The attacks hit Afghanistan despite a recent surge in both ground and aerial offensives by the US-led and Afghan forces against militants in various parts of the country, as part of Washington’s new war strategy after last year’s gains by the militants.
“We have not announced the end of the war. There is fighting, there is a threat from 20 terrorist groups here. But we have stepped up our efforts. The enemy has suffered, but it has foreign support,” Waziri said.
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New wave of terror attacks hits Afghanistan, killing 30
New wave of terror attacks hits Afghanistan, killing 30
Armed man shot and killed after entering secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, Secret Service says
WASHINGTON: An armed man drove into the secure perimeter of Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump’s resort in Palm Beach, Florida, before being shot and killed early Sunday morning, according to a spokesman for the US Secret Service.
Although Trump often spends weekends at his resort, he was at the White House when the breach occurred around 1:30 a.m.
The man had a gas can and a shotgun, authorities said. Investigators identified him as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin of North Carolina, according to the FBI, and authorities said his family had recently reported him missing.
He’s believed to have purchased his shotgun while driving south, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said, and a box for the weapon was later discovered in the man’s vehicle.
Investigators have not identified a motive. However, Trump has faced threats to his life before, including two assassination attempts during the 2024 campaign.
The investigation is ongoing
The man entered the north gate of the property as another vehicle was exiting and was confronted by two Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw.
“He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with him. At which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” Bradshaw said at a brief press conference. The two agents and the deputy “fired their weapons to neutralize the threat.”
The Moore County Sheriff’s Department in North Carolina said a relative of Martin’s reported him missing early Sunday morning.
Investigators are working to compile a psychological profile. Asked whether the man was previously known to law enforcement, Bradshaw said “not right now.”
The FBI encouraged residents who live near Mar-a-Lago to check any security cameras they may have for footage that could help investigators.
In a post on X, FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau would be “dedicating all necessary resources” to the investigation.
Martin was described by family as quiet and averse to guns
On Sunday afternoon, vehicles blocked the entrance to a property listed in public records as an address for Martin at the end of a private road in Cameron, North Carolina.
Braeden Fields, Martin’s cousin, reacted with disbelief. He described Martin as quiet, afraid of guns and from a family of avid Trump supporters.
“He’s a good kid,” Fields, 19, said. He said they grew up together. “I wouldn’t believe he would do something like this. It’s mind-blowing,” Fields said.
He said Martin worked at a local golf course and would send money from each paycheck to charity.
“He wouldn’t even hurt an ant. He doesn’t even know how to use a gun,” Fields said.
He said his cousin didn’t discuss politics.
“We are big Trump supporters, all of us. Everybody,” Fields said, but his cousin was “real quiet, never really talked about anything.”
Trump faced two assassination attempts during his last campaign
Sunday’s incursion at Mar-a-Lago took place a few miles from Trump’s West Palm Beach club where a man tried to assassinate him while he played golf during the 2024 campaign.
A Secret Service agent spotted that man, Ryan Routh, aiming a rifle through the shrubbery before Trump came into view. Officials said Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire and caused Routh to drop his weapon.
Routh was found guilty last year and sentenced this month to life in prison.
Trump also survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. That gunman fired eight shots before being killed by a Secret Service counter sniper. One rally attendee was killed by the gunman.
White House brings in shutdown politics
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X that “the United States Secret Service acted quickly and decisively to neutralize a crazy person, armed with a gun and a gas canister, who intruded President Trump’s home.”
Leavitt used her post to blame Democratic lawmakers in Congress for the partial government shutdown affecting the Homeland Security Department, which began Feb. 14 after Democrats demanded changes to the president’s deportation campaign.
The Secret Service is among the agencies where the vast majority of employees are continuing their work but missing a paycheck.
“Federal law enforcement are working 24/7 to keep our country safe and protect all Americans,” Leavitt said. “It’s shameful and reckless that Democrats have chosen to shut down their Department.”
The White House referred all questions to the Secret Service and FBI. Both Trump and his wife posted statements on social media after the incident, but they were unrelated to the shooting.
Numerous recent acts of politically motivated violence
In the past year, there was the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk; the assassination of the Democratic leader in the Minnesota state House and her husband and the shooting of another lawmaker and his wife; and an arson attack at the official residence of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
Five days ago, a Georgia man armed with a shotgun was arrested as he sprinted toward the west side of the US Capitol. Trump is scheduled to deliver his State of the Union address there on Tuesday night.
Although Trump often spends weekends at his resort, he was at the White House when the breach occurred around 1:30 a.m.
The man had a gas can and a shotgun, authorities said. Investigators identified him as 21-year-old Austin Tucker Martin of North Carolina, according to the FBI, and authorities said his family had recently reported him missing.
He’s believed to have purchased his shotgun while driving south, Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said, and a box for the weapon was later discovered in the man’s vehicle.
Investigators have not identified a motive. However, Trump has faced threats to his life before, including two assassination attempts during the 2024 campaign.
The investigation is ongoing
The man entered the north gate of the property as another vehicle was exiting and was confronted by two Secret Service agents and a Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputy, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw.
“He was ordered to drop those two pieces of equipment that he had with him. At which time he put down the gas can, raised the shotgun to a shooting position,” Bradshaw said at a brief press conference. The two agents and the deputy “fired their weapons to neutralize the threat.”
The Moore County Sheriff’s Department in North Carolina said a relative of Martin’s reported him missing early Sunday morning.
Investigators are working to compile a psychological profile. Asked whether the man was previously known to law enforcement, Bradshaw said “not right now.”
The FBI encouraged residents who live near Mar-a-Lago to check any security cameras they may have for footage that could help investigators.
In a post on X, FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau would be “dedicating all necessary resources” to the investigation.
Martin was described by family as quiet and averse to guns
On Sunday afternoon, vehicles blocked the entrance to a property listed in public records as an address for Martin at the end of a private road in Cameron, North Carolina.
Braeden Fields, Martin’s cousin, reacted with disbelief. He described Martin as quiet, afraid of guns and from a family of avid Trump supporters.
“He’s a good kid,” Fields, 19, said. He said they grew up together. “I wouldn’t believe he would do something like this. It’s mind-blowing,” Fields said.
He said Martin worked at a local golf course and would send money from each paycheck to charity.
“He wouldn’t even hurt an ant. He doesn’t even know how to use a gun,” Fields said.
He said his cousin didn’t discuss politics.
“We are big Trump supporters, all of us. Everybody,” Fields said, but his cousin was “real quiet, never really talked about anything.”
Trump faced two assassination attempts during his last campaign
Sunday’s incursion at Mar-a-Lago took place a few miles from Trump’s West Palm Beach club where a man tried to assassinate him while he played golf during the 2024 campaign.
A Secret Service agent spotted that man, Ryan Routh, aiming a rifle through the shrubbery before Trump came into view. Officials said Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire and caused Routh to drop his weapon.
Routh was found guilty last year and sentenced this month to life in prison.
Trump also survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. That gunman fired eight shots before being killed by a Secret Service counter sniper. One rally attendee was killed by the gunman.
White House brings in shutdown politics
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on X that “the United States Secret Service acted quickly and decisively to neutralize a crazy person, armed with a gun and a gas canister, who intruded President Trump’s home.”
Leavitt used her post to blame Democratic lawmakers in Congress for the partial government shutdown affecting the Homeland Security Department, which began Feb. 14 after Democrats demanded changes to the president’s deportation campaign.
The Secret Service is among the agencies where the vast majority of employees are continuing their work but missing a paycheck.
“Federal law enforcement are working 24/7 to keep our country safe and protect all Americans,” Leavitt said. “It’s shameful and reckless that Democrats have chosen to shut down their Department.”
The White House referred all questions to the Secret Service and FBI. Both Trump and his wife posted statements on social media after the incident, but they were unrelated to the shooting.
Numerous recent acts of politically motivated violence
In the past year, there was the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk; the assassination of the Democratic leader in the Minnesota state House and her husband and the shooting of another lawmaker and his wife; and an arson attack at the official residence of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
Five days ago, a Georgia man armed with a shotgun was arrested as he sprinted toward the west side of the US Capitol. Trump is scheduled to deliver his State of the Union address there on Tuesday night.
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