Afghanistan celebrates amid attacks

AFGHANISTAN celebrated its Independence Day yesterday amid one of the bloodiest weeks in a year, with heavily-armed guerrillas killing at least nine policemen.

There were also fresh assaults on aid workers. A group of 20 gunmen raided a mine-clearing group’s compound in a province west of Kabul, beating five employees with rifle butts.

In a speech to mark Afghanistan’s 84th anniversary of independence from Britain, President Hamid Karzai urged his countrymen to take responsibility for rebuilding a nation wasted by nearly a quarter of century of fighting and dependent on foreign aid.