Taliban violence as German defense minister visits Afghanistan

Atiqullah Rawoofi, a senior supreme court official, was shot dead in Kabul in the latest in a series of high-profile attacks by the Afghan Taliban. Rawoofi, head of the secretariat for the court, was gunned down as he was leaving his house for work on Saturday.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid took responsibility for the attack in a text message to the media, but declined to give a reason as to why Rawoofi was targeted. There was also no explanation given for the deaths of 12 landmine removal workers at the hands of the Taliban several hours later in the country's Helmand province. A firefight with insurgents broke out at the demining project, which is operated by a company called Star Link.

Shortly thereafter, an explosion in Kabul killed 14 people, according to German news agency dpa.

This rash of violence on Saturday follow the killing of two US soldiers late Friday near Bagram airbase after a Taliban bomb hit a military convoy.

Attack alert

Kabul is on high alert amid NATO winding down its combat mission and a spike in insurgent aggression. On Thursday, a suicide bomber killed one German national and wounded about 15 others inside an auditorium during a play.

Earlier on Thursday, a separate suicide attack claimed the lives of six Afghan soldiers riding a bus in the suburbs of the city.

The Taliban has targeted several foreigners in recent weeks, such as a British embassy security guard and a South African family. Most foreign troops are preparing to leave by the end of the month.

Some 12,000, mostly American, soldiers will remain to train and support the Afghan army as part of a mission called "Resolute Support."

Although the step-down from a combat role has been highly anticipated after 13 years of war, officials are cautious to name a final end date for NATO's advisory mission in Afghanistan, in which Germany will play an active part.

von der Leyen on surprise visit

German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen made a surprise visit to Afghanistan Saturday morning. She spoke of the need to "carry on this mission to the end with prudence, but also with enough time,"

The minister cautioned againist an "abrupt end" of the deployment of international troops in the still unstable nation, as the Taliban is clearly trying to destabilize Ashraf Ghani's new government.

Von der Leyen has visited the war-torn country three times since taking office last year. She has always voiced her support of the international mission there. "When you look back, several factors show that [Western involvement] made sense," she said on Saturday in Mazar-i-Sharif. The German army has long led the ISAF regional command in the north of the country from the base there.

es/jm (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)