2 Slain in Attack on Pakistani Embassy
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KABUL, Afghanistan — Two people died Wednesday when several thousand demonstrators raided the Pakistani Embassy and set it on fire to protest Pakistan’s alleged support of rebels advancing against Afghan government fighters.
An embassy worker and a demonstrator died, Afghan officials said. The ambassador received minor injuries, and 24 other embassy workers were hurt, according to officials in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan.
Witnesses said buses dropped off thousands of demonstrators, armed with sticks and steel rods, outside the sprawling diplomatic compound in southern Kabul.
Shouting “Death to Pakistan and Death to [Prime Minister] Benazir Bhutto,” they set fire to several buildings on the compound, destroying most of them, a spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry said.
Early today, Pakistan evacuated its staff from the embassy.
The attack came one day after Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani accused Pakistan of backing Taliban guerrillas who captured the strategic western city of Herat and a nearby government air force base. Pakistan has denied involvement in the offensive.
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