Kabul: The head of Afghanistan's intelligence department on Thursday said the Mumbai-style attacks on government offices in Kabul, killing 26 people, were master-minded by militants based in Pakistan.
Amerullah Saleh said his agency was looking for 21 suspects in connection with Wednesday's attacks on three government buildings.
Afhgan officials have been saying that insurgents are getting training and equipment from elements in Pakistan. They believe that Wednesday's attacks in Kabul show a new tactic by the Taliban, who have previously only attacked one target at a time.
Saleh was quoted by agencies as saying: "As they were entering the ministry of justice before starting their indiscriminate killing of the civilians there, they sent three messages to Pakistan calling for the blessing of their mastermind."
Wednesday's attacks came a day before the first official visit to Afghanistan by Richard Holbrooke, US President Barack Obama's special envoy to the troubled region.
Meanwhile, the Taliban in a statement posted on its website said the attacks were sanctioned directly by their supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar and were conducted by eight suicide bombers equipped with assault rifles.
According to the statement, the attacks were made to avenge the execution of some of the members of the outfit in government prisons last year.
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