Six suicide bombers attacked a USAID compound today in northern Afghanistan, killing at least four people and wounding several others, officials said. Two of the dead were foreigners.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which began about 3.30am when a suicide car bomber detonated a sports utility vehicle at the compound's entrance.
An Afghan security guard was killed in the blast, said Gen Abdul Razaq Yaqoubi, chief of police in Kunduz province.
Five other attackers then stormed a building used by Development Alternatives Inc, a Washington, DC-based global consulting company that has a USAID contract to work on governance and community development in the area.
An Afghan policeman and two foreign workers, one from Germany and the other from the Philippines were killed in the fighting, said Gen Murad Ali Murad, a commander for the Afghan National Army.
The bodies of five suicide attackers were recovered from two floors of the building.
In Berlin, a spokesperson for Germany's foreign ministry confirmed a German citizen had been killed in the Kunduz attack but did not elaborate. He was speaking on condition of anonymity in line with government policy.
Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid told The Associated Press that six suicide bombers attacked a "training centre" for Afghan security forces in Kunduz and killed 55 foreigners. The Taliban often exaggerate their claims.
The attack appeared part of a Taliban campaign against development projects at a time when the US and its allies are trying to bolster civilian programmes to shore up the Afghan government.
