Taliban staged room-to-room Afghan massacre: officials

Taliban gunmen who killed 46 people at a courthouse in western Afghanistan in a bid to free insurgents.

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Taliban gunmen who killed 46 people at a courthouse in western Afghanistan in a bid to free insurgents moved ruthlessly from room to room,shooting everyone they found,officials recounted today. Defenceless civilians,judges,lawyers and court staff were left dead after nine militants disguised as Afghan soldiers launched an eight-hour assault on yesterday which only ended after security forces killed the last surviving gunman.

Taliban fighters frequently target government compounds,but the unprecedented massacre at a courthouse in the remote province of Farah raised new fears about the insurgency8217;s strength as NATO forces withdraw from the battlefield.

Three attackers died when their explosive-laden vehicle,stolen from the Afghan army,drove into the entrance of the court in Farah city early in the morning.

The vehicle detonated in a huge blast when they refused to stop and police opened fire,deputy governor of Farah province Mohammad Younus Rasouli told AFP.

Six other attackers entered the court buildings and the attorney general8217;s office next door.

8220;They had 10 hand grenades each and lots of bullets. They smashed down each door and shot anyone in each room,one by one,8221; Rasouli said. 8220;Everybody,all the attorneys and judges and anyone else. All were unarmed,defenceless.8221;

Television footage and photographs showed badly damaged buildings,walls reduced to rubble and wrecked cars at the scene.

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The governor of Farah,Mohammad Akram Khpalwak,said 36 civilians were killed,including four lawyers and four judges. Ten security force personnel were also killed and 95 to 100 people wounded,he added.

8220;Many people were stranded in the buildings. After they were rescued,the police and army started the operation to hunt down the attackers,8221; Khpalwak told AFP. 8220;Ten security force personnel died during the day.8221;

The court was due to put Taliban militants on trial when the attack took place. The militants claimed to have freed 13 of its members,but Khpalwak told AFP that 12 Taliban prisoners at the court were taken back to jail.

Wakil Ahmad,a doctor at Farah hospital,said yesterday that one court prisoner was among those treated for injuries.

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The attack in Farah,a province that borders Iran,was the deadliest for more than a year in Afghanistan and comes as NATO forces who have fought the Taliban since 2001 start to pull out.