Gunmen and suicide bombers yesterday launched a pre-dawn attack claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group on a military compound in Kabul, killing 11 soldiers in the third major assault in the Afghan capital in recent days.
The series of assaults, including one of the deadliest bombs in Kabul in recent years, have left already war-weary citizens grief-stricken and angry as the Taliban and Islamic State group escalate their offensive.
Yesterday’s attack on an Afghan army battalion killed at least 11 soldiers and wounded 16, an Afghan Ministry of Defense spokesman said.
Photo: EPA
“Two bombers detonated themselves and two were killed by our forces and one was detained alive,” spokesman Dawlat Waziri said, adding that the attack was over.
Officials said the men, armed with a rocket, two Kalashnikovs and at least one suicide vest, had attempted to breach an army battalion near the Marshal Fahim military academy, where high-ranking officers are trained.
An officer at the academy said he could hear an explosion and gunfire, while other witnesses said the first blasts and gunfire came at about 5am.
The gunmen did not enter the heavily fortified compound on the western outskirts of the city, an Afghan security source said.
Security forces have swarmed into the area and blocked roads leading to it.
In October, a Taliban suicide bomber killed 15 Afghan army trainees as they traveled home from the Marshal Fahim academy. Militants, including the Taliban and Islamic State group, have stepped up their attacks on beleaguered Afghan troops and police in recent months, sapping morale already hit by desertions and corruption.
Afghan troops have taken what the UN describes as “shocking” casualties since international forces ended their combat role at the end of 2014, though troop casualty figures are no longer released.
On Saturday a Taliban suicide attacker driving an explosives-packed ambulance blew it up in a crowded area of Kabul, killing at least 103 people — mainly civilians — and wounding 235 in one of the worst bombings in the city in recent years.
The blast was a chilling demonstration of the militants’ ability to penetrate the heart of Kabul, despite stepped-up security since a massive truck bomb killed about 150 people and wounded hundreds in May last year.
The government has blamed the attack, which was followed by a national day of mourning, on the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani Network.
Afghans flooded social media with grief and anger.
“May God destroy their houses,” Kabul resident Aftab Ali wrote on Facebook, adding: “[T]hey are killing innocent humans.”
Security warnings sent to foreigners in recent days said IS militants were planning to attack supermarkets, hotels and shops frequented by foreigners.
Several foreign organizations, including humanitarian groups, are reassessing their operations after a particularly deadly week.
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