Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker said Wednesday that the attack was likely carried out by the Haqanni network, a Taliban offshoot group that has been linked to some of the boldest attacks in the capital.The Taliban had claimed responsibility for the attack Tuesday. The NATO force has begun handing over security responsibilities to Afghan troops, and American forces have begun a drawdown that will see the departure of 10,000 troops by the end of the year.The siege paralyzed central Kabul, with shops and businesses closing and government workers fleeing their offices.  Afghan authorities on Wednesday morning said the last of six attackers who laid siege to the U.S. Embassy and other buildings from a high-rise structure had been killed and the area was secure.The midmorning announcement by the Interior Ministry came nearly 21 hours after the start of the attack, raising troubling questions about why it took so long to secure the building under construction that the assailants used as a staging ground. Last month, insurgents besieged a British cultural center, and in June, teams of gunmen and bombers invaded a luxury high-rise hotel.Special correspondent Aimal Yaqubi contributed to this report.
– This morning—almost 21 hours after the attack on the US embassy and other buildings in Kabul began—the last of the six attackers have been killed and the area is locked down. But questions are being raised about why it took so long to secure the high-rise building used by the assailants as a staging area, the Los Angeles Times notes. At least seven Afghans died in the attack, and 17 were hurt. Officials believe the insurgents disguised themselves as women in order to get weapons into the building, which is under construction, the Washington Post adds. "We strongly believe they used burkas," which were found inside the van alongside the assailants' weapons, "to reach this place," a police spokesperson says. "The police respect the women too much." Though the attack raises concerns about Kabul's vulnerability and security shortcomings as US forces start withdrawing from Afghanistan, US Ambassador Ryan Crocker downplayed it, calling it simply "harassment." He continues, "If this is the best they can do, I find their lack of ability and capacity and the ability of Afghan forces to respond to it, actually encouraging." Crocker tells the New York Times today that the Pakistan-based Haqqani group appeared to be behind the assault.