Terror of British women saved by panic room as Taliban suicide bombers attack kill ten



Two British women teachers and one South African sheltered in a sealed 'safe room'

At least five explosions reported at the compound of the education centre

Blasts come on the anniversary of Afghan independence from Britain in 1919

New Zealand SAS carried out rescue operation



Two terrified British women hid for more than five hours in a basement ‘panic room’ yesterday after Taliban gunmen and suicide bombers stormed the headquarters of the British Council in Kabul.

At least ten people were killed in the attack which again showed how the Taliban is able to strike against some of the most secure buildings in the Afghan capital.

The women teachers and their bodyguard were among four Britons sleeping in the council’s sprawling compound who made it to the underground bunker after a car driven by a suicide bomber smashed a perimeter wall.

Scroll down for videos of the aftermath of the blasts...

Casualty: An unidentified man wearing a Union Flag on his shoulder is carried from the compound yesterday

Afghan policemen carry a wounded colleague past British military vehicles at the site of the bombings

BRITISH COUNCIL CHIEF EXECUTIVE STATEMENT: Martin Davidson said: 'We are deeply shocked and saddened at the events that have taken place in Kabul and our thoughts are with the families of those injured or killed in this appalling attack.

'When the attack took place, three staff from the UK were in the compound and are now safe.

'We have 25 Afghan-appointed staff, none of whom are based at the compound and none of whom are physically affected by the incident.

'We are working with international partners and the Afghan government to contribute to the development of the next generation of leaders in Afghanistan.

'Our work in education gives them the skills that they need to contribute to the development and economic well-being of post-transitional Afghanistan.

'Young Afghans want to be part of that wider world and they demand the skills, including English language, to be able to do this.

'This attack must not and will not prevent the British Council from giving those young Afghans the support they need to be part of that wider world.'



This signalled the beginning of a five-hour gun battle that left a member of the New Zealand Special Forces among the dead.

All of the Britons were uninjured but were said to be traumatised and recovering last night at the British Embassy as security in Kabul was stepped up.

British Council chief executive Martin Davidson said: ‘Clearly, they are deeply shocked. They were inside the compound for a very long period of time.’

The two British women, both English teachers at council-run projects in the city, had been trained to go to the ‘panic room’ – which is secured from the inside and fitted with a direct link to the embassy – in an emergency.

The Taliban said it had targeted the council to mark the 92nd anniversary of Afghanistan’s full independence from Britain – and warned there would be more attacks on foreign targets in the city.

Eight Afghan policemen, a local municipal worker and the New Zealand soldier were all killed and 20 others wounded after the insurgents set off eight explosions.

A gunman was then able to fight his way into a fortified area of the council from where he held off Afghan and Nato forces.

A photograph showed a Union Flag insignia on the left shoulder of one casualty as he was carried on a stretcher from the wreckage of the building but last night his identity was unclear.

Officials said the death toll inside the compound would have been higher had it not been for the bravery of the Nepalese security guards – former Gurkha soldiers – who repelled the initial wave of attackers.

Britain’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Sir William Patey, confirmed that all militants were killed, adding : ‘This was a dastardly, cowardly attack designed to attack British interests, but ultimately ending in the deaths of many Afghans, and we regret the death of the Afghans in this.’

David Cameron condemned the attack on the cultural centre as ‘vicious and cowardly’, promising it would not stop the work of the British Council in supporting the Afghan people.

Afghan police said it appeared to have been a well-planned three-phase attack begun when a suicide attacker detonated his explosive vest at a square in western Kabul – where police were guarding a key intersection – shortly after 1.30am UK time.

At least eight people have been killed after two suicide bombers targeted the British Council in Kabul Blast: A British security guard (left) and an Afghan policeman walk in front of the site of the explosion at the British Council Ten minutes later, a suicide car bomber detonated his vehicle outside the front gate of the British Council, destroying a wall, which allowed the attackers to pour into the compound. A number of Afghan policemen were killed in the blast, others buried in the rubble. The impact of the explosion was so great that it was heard across the city, shattering windows a third of a mile away. As the area was evacuated, local shopkeepers said as many as nine insurgents armed with rocket-propelled grenades, heavy machine guns and AK-47s started firing as they ran towards the British Council building. British and U.S. soldiers arrived at the scene to support Afghan and Nato Special Forces in a gun battle that raged for hours. Scores of troops surrounded the compound while two Apache attack helicopters hovered on watch above. The Taliban said it was sending two messages. ‘One to the Afghan government and one to the British,’ spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said by telephone from an undisclosed location

One of the two police officers who was killed is carried away from the smoking wreckage by his colleagues

British and Afghan security personnel quickly moved in to deal with the clash at the British Council Despite the attack by the Taliban, bombings in Kabul these days are relatively rare

‘We are now reminding them that we will become independent again from all foreigners, especially from the British,’ Mujahid said, referring to Afghanistan’s independence from British rule in 1919.

Mr Davidson said there had been no specific threat against the British Council and the attack came as a ‘complete surprise and shock’.

The council also has 25 Afghan staff, but they are not based at the compound.

After the U.S., Britain has the largest force in the Nato-led war against the Taliban, with around 9,500 troops.

The attack comes a month after Nato handed over security responsibilities to the Afghans in several areas across the country, as part of a transition process to be completed by the end of 2014.

Afghan forces were given responsibility for the city of Kabul in 2008. But Nato helicopter gunships had to be deployed there in June to end a siege of one of the city’s top hotels after a Taliban attack.