A major Taliban attack began on Kabul Jan. 18. The fighting is being reported by both American and Taliban sources. According to one American source, reports of an imminent attack began circulating Jan. 17. Heavy fighting is being reported at multiple locations, apparently focused around the Serena Hotel. The hotel, which is frequented by foreign journalists and government officials, has been attacked in the past. According to the Taliban, 20 suicide bombers are taking part in the attack. They claim the Presidential Palace, Ministries of Justice, Finance, Mines and Industry are among the targets. There reports of casualties, but numbers and locations are unclear.

The attack is still in progress, with Taliban forces reportedly fighting Afghan security forces. Explosions, gunfire and rocket fire have been reported along with the suicide bombers. It is unclear as to whether this assault will prove larger than attacks carried out last February.

Early reports in a situation like this tend to be inaccurate, and it will be a while before we get a clear sense of what has happened. However, it is clear that this is a major assault.

UPDATE:

The Taliban attack in the Afghan capital of Kabul is reportedly winding down. The assault began around 9:35 a.m. local time Jan. 18 (the day the new cabinet was being sworn in) when reports of rocket fire and explosions were heard in the Afghan capital near several government buildings.

Just 23 minutes later, reports emerged that the Taliban had claimed the attack in a message to Afghan Islamic Press. In the claim, Taliban spokesman Zabihollah Mojahed has said 20 suicide assailants were attacking the Presidential Palace, the Central Bank and the Ministries of Finance, Justice and Mines and Industries. The Serena Hotel, Defense Ministry and Afghan Telecom had also reportedly come under attack.

A little after noon local time, militants began to lay siege on two major shopping centers, including a mall called the Grand Afghan Shopping Center near the Justice Ministry. Eyewitness reported militants carrying rocket-propelled grenades entered the second and third floors of the mall. A vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) reportedly detonated outside one of the shopping centers, killing several security forces.

This report is republished with the permission of STRATFOR: www.STRATFOR.com.

On Thursday the U.S. Department of Justice announced findings that more than 3,200 incarcerated juveniles, 12 percent, had been raped or sexually abused while in detention during the past twelve months. This figure included assaults by one inmate against another as well as any sexual activity between detention staff and detained juveniles. The survey sampled about 9,000 of the country’s 26,550 young people in prisons.

Westat, a company in Rockville, Maryland conducted the anonymous survey under contract to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

In some facilities in Indiana, Maryland, North Carolina and Texas nealry a third of juvenile inmates reported being sexually abused.