Afghanistan: 35 killed in deadliest 24 hours capital, Kabul, has seen in years
LONDON. KAZINFORM A wave of attacks in Kabul has killed at least 35 people and wounded hundreds in the deadliest 24 hours in the Afghan capital in years. Most of the killed were civilians or young police cadets, with one international service member also among the dead.
The deadliest attack occurred on Friday evening when a Taliban suicide bomber, dressed in police uniform, detonated an explosives vest outside the gates of a police academy in the middle of a crowd of recruits waiting to return after the weekend. At least 20 people were killed and 25 wounded, according to AP.
A few hours later, another two explosions went off in the Qasaba neighbourhood north of the airport, followed by sporadic gunfire, when insurgents tried to storm a US Special Operations Base known as Camp Integrity. One service member was killed, along with two insurgents, according to Colonel Brian Tribus, a spokesman for international forces in Afghanistan.
"A coalition facility [Camp Integrity] was attacked at 10.15pm, 7 August. One Resolute Support service member and two insurgent attackers were killed," Tribus said in a statement, without providing more information. The individual is the fifth international service member killed in Afghanistan this year.
Following the attack on the US base, military jets circled the skies above Kabul into the early morning hours.
The Afghan capital had been on alert since early on Friday, when a massive truck bomb exploded outside an Afghan army base in a residential area called Shah Shaheed, close to the centre of Kabul.
The blast killed at least 20 people and injured several hundred, despite occurring at 1am when the streets were deserted. Most injuries were light, caused by splintered glass, but dozens of people remained in the hospital on Saturday morning, The Guardian informs. See www.theguardian.com for full version