Twin suicide blasts hit the Afghan capital Kabul, near the defence ministry compound on Monday, have killed at least five people, officials said.
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An Interior Ministry statement said that a suicide vehicle bombing struck close to a building belonging to the charity CARE International in Shar-e Naw late Monday night, after which three more attackers entered the building. Eyewitnesses reported seeing tracer fire. Smoke was seen rising from the site where gunmen were still holed up.
Explosions and gunfire rang out Tuesday during an hours-long attack on a Kabul charity, the latest assault in a wave of violence in the Afghan capital that killed at least 25 people and wounded dozens.
Taliban terrorists claimed responsibility for the first two bomb blasts Monday.
According to reports, the second suicide bomber detonated explosives after the people responded to the scene of first explosion. Failure to implement the reforms could undermine the legitimacy of the national unity government.
Jani Khel, a district in the mountainous province of Paktia, on the border with Pakistan, lies on a strategic road intersection, linking other districts in the province and its loss was considered a serious setback by security forces.
Ministry of Interior spokesman Sediq Sediqqi confirmed that at least 20 people were killed and over 40 injured.
Afghan forces eventually killed all three gunmen involved in the second attack, officials said.
“The casualties could rise still further”, Majroh said.
According to officials, the suicide bomber detonated the vehicle bomb at the gate of the compound. A spokesman for Resolute Support said the NATO-led train-advise-assist mission had accounted for all its personnel.
“We have rescued several families from the area”, he said.
“Targeting civilians as well as those who defend their fellow citizens directly contradicts the Taliban’s earlier promise to protect the civilian population and does nothing to advance the cause of peace”.
The attacks follows a deadly attack on the American University in Kabul that killed 15 people less than two weeks ago. In April this year, the Taliban had targeted nearly the same spot and killed 28 people. The Taliban claimed that attack.
The Taliban’s ability to conduct coordinated high profile attacks in Kabul has piled pressure on the Western-backed government, which has struggled to reassure a war-weary population that it can guarantee security. But Afghan civilians often bear the brunt of attacks.
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A police spokesman told global media that six other people were wounded, and that 31 people have been rescued from the building.
