Kabul Suicide Attack Kills at Least 15 Outside Military Academy
Afghan police and witnesses say bomber on foot blew himself up near a minibus packed with cadets at the main entrance to the capital city’s Marshal Fahim Military Academy
ISLAMABAD — A suicide blast Saturday outside the Afghan military academy in Kabul killed at least 15 cadets and wounded several others, said the defense ministry. The attack came a day after an Islamic State suicide bomber stormed a crowded Shi’ite Muslim mosque in the city, killing 50 worshipers and wounding dozens more. Afghan police and witnesses said Saturday’s attack occurred when a car bomber drove into a minibus packed with cadets at the main entrance to the capital city’s Marshal Fahim Military Academy. Defense Ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri confirmed the death toll and said four others were wounded. The Taliban insurgency has claimed responsibly for the minibus bombing, saying the attack was part of its Mansoori insurgent operations underway against Afghan forces and their foreign backers. Also on Friday, a suicide bomber killed 33 people at a mosque in the central province of Ghor. That attack killed a pro-government former Afghan jihadi commander and members of his group who were offering prayers at the mosque. A string of militant bombings and battlefield raids across Afghanistan this week has killed more than 200 people, mostly members of Afghan security forces. “These brutal and senseless attacks against people at prayer are atrocities. The persons most responsible for the attacks must be brought to justice,” said Tadamichi Yamamoto, the head of the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) while condemning Friday’s attacks.