The latest Taliban strike in Kabul killed a South African father running an education charity and his two teenage children, a family spokeswoman said Sunday, as the city police chief resigned after a spate of attacks. With the US-led Nato war against the Taliban nearing its end, the insurgents have targeted foreign guesthouses, embassy vehicles, US troops and a female member of parliament in recent weeks.
Werner Groenewald, 46, his son Jean-Pierre, 17, and daughter Rode, 15, were killed in Saturday's attack on the compound of Partnership in Academics and Development (PAD), a small California-based education group.
Werner's wife Hannelie, a doctor, was working at a hospital when the attack began, Hannelie's sister Riana du Plessis, who is acting as family spokeswoman, told AFP.
Explosions and gunfire erupted for three hours as Afghan elite commandos battled three militants who were eventually killed. "Their house was burned down," du Plessis said, speaking in South Africa. "Hannelie went back there this morning to try to recover some of their goods, but there was nothing to recover. "She lost everything - her children, her husband, her cats, her dogs."
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed on Twitter that the compound was that of a secret Christian missionary group. Du Plessis and friends of the Groenewalds in Kabul said the family were strict Christian but were not missionaries.
Many international aid workers, diplomats and consultants work in Kabul, though very few are accompanied by their families. "In the midst of this unprovoked attack, Partnership in Academics and Development remains committed to providing educational resources for Afghan citizens," the charity said in a message on its website.
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