Afghan authorities were warned about lax security at entrances to Kabul’s highly fortified diplomatic zone before a suicide bomber struck this week, sources said on Wednesday.
The attacker evaded the first security checkpoint on Street 14 in the heart of the capital yesterday before blowing himself up inside the “Green Zone”, killing at least five people and wounding dozens.
It was the first attack targeting the heavily protected area that is home to many embassies and international organisations since a massive truck bomb detonated on May 31, killing or wounding hundreds.
Since then the Kabul Government has ramped up security in the city, installing scanning machines, truck barriers and dozens of checkpoints to prevent militants reaching the diplomatic and downtown areas.
But Afghan authorities had been told that loose security checks at Street 14 posed a threat to those living and working inside the Green Zone, four Western and Afghan diplomatic and security sources said.
Twice “we made it clear (to the National Security Council) that we have a problem with Street 14 -- there is no proper checkpoint because there is no barrier, just a bunch of policemen,” a Western embassy official said.
He said another concern was the ability to avoid the first checkpoint by accessing Street 14 through a mosque and a park. The interior ministry said today that was apparently how the attacker got inside the Green Zone.