Afghan Official: Haqqanis Blamed for Kabul Attacks Thirty-six insurgents were killed during the brazen attacks that also claimed the lives of eight policemen and three civilians and proved that militants can still penetrate Afghan security after 10 years of war, said Interior Minister Besmillah Mohammadi. The violence showed the Taliban and their allies are far from beaten and underscored the security challenge facing government forces as U.S. and NATO troops draw down. It was the most widespread attack in the Afghan capital since an assault on the U.S. Embassy and NATO headquarters last September - an assault also blamed on the Haqqani network, which commands the loyalties of an estimated 10,000 fighters considered one of the most serious threats to NATO in Afghanistan. Afghan and U.S. officials are trying to coax the Taliban - who are not as closely linked with al-Qaida as the Haqqanis - to negotiate a political resolution to the 10-year-old war. If the Haqqani faction of the insurgency is behind the recent attacks, it could be easier to sell the idea of making peace with the Taliban to skeptics who say it amounts to making a deal with the enemy. At the same time, international forces have been working to build up the Afghan army and police - a goal threatened by a growing number of insider attacks this year. In the latest such attack, an Afghan soldier opened fire on Bulgarian troops at his base Monday. The soldier fired from a guard tower down on the Bulgarians at a joint base in Kandahar city, said Col. Mohammad Mohsin, a spokesman for the Afghan army in Kandahar. The Bulgarian troops fired back, killing the Afghan soldier, Mohsin said. He said the attacker was from northern Takhar province. A coalition spokesman, U.S. Army Maj. Jason Waggoner, confirmed there was an incident in Kandahar. He said no NATO troops were killed but did not provide further details. In Kabul on Monday, residents awoke to loud explosions and the crackle of gunfire. The attacks on the Afghan capital ended when insurgents who had holed up overnight in two buildings were overcome by heavy gunfire from Afghan-led forces and pre-dawn air assaults from U.S.-led coalition helicopters. Rocket-propelled grenades were fired one after another into a building in the center of the city where insurgents began their attack Sunday. The building, which is under construction, overlooks the presidential palace, Western embassies and government ministries.