U.S. officials say new American envoy Richard Holbrooke has arrived in
Afghanistan, one day after Taliban gunmen staged deadly attacks in the
capital, Kabul.
Holbrooke, the envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, is on his first trip to the region. He flew to Afghanistan from Pakistan.
Last
week, a U.S. State Department spokesman said Holbrooke's trip would be
like an "orientation session," and that he would bring no proposals for
advancing international efforts to stabilize Afghanistan.
Afghan
authorities are investigating links between Pakistan and Taliban gunmen
who killed at least 26 people in coordinated attacks Wednesday on three
government buildings in Kabul. The Afghan National Directorate of
Security launched the probe.
Afghanistan's security chief, Amrullah Saleh, said Wednesday militant groups in Pakistan may have ties to the assault.
He
said that as the bombers prepared to attack the Justice Ministry, they
sent messages to Pakistan calling for the blessing of their
"mastermind."
The Taliban assault wounded nearly 60 other people.
Afghan
officials say eight suicide attackers died after they tried to kill as
many people as possible. Some blew themselves up, while others were
killed by security guards.
The United States and United Nations
condemned the attacks against the Afghan Justice Ministry, Education
Ministry and the office of prisons.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
