One of the many civilian victims injured in what was a devastating day of attacks in the Afghan capital.
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Kabul was already on edge following one of its worst outbreaks of violence this year. It said four attackers were involved, with one blowing up a vehicle at the entrance to enable the other three to enter the base.
Friday’s violence ended a period of relative calm in the Afghan capital, where there hadn’t been a major security breach in more than a month.
The Taleban is in the midst of a leadership dispute following the appointment of Mullah Akhtar Mansour as their new leader.
An early morning truck bomb exploded in a residential neighborhood, killing 15 and injuring 240.
That attack left 15 dead and 240 wounded, with women and children among those injured, according to deputy presidential spokesman Sayed Zafar Hashemi.
The Taliban, who have been toppled from energy by the D.J.-led army intervention in 2001, not often admit to assaults that kill a excessive variety of civilians. With the attacks, the insurgents demonstrate to the Afghan government they are still capable of striking at the heart of the fortified capital. A Taliban spokesman said the group was looking into the incident and the government said an investigation had begun.
On Friday evening, two more bombings struck just hours apart.
The bombing of the police academy killed at least 20 and wounded 24, when a man dressed in a police uniform reportedly detonated an explosive vest as recruits lined up for classes.
Buildings close to Camp Integrity – the US special forces’ base – were flattened by the explosion and damaged during a gunfight lasting several hours. An hourslong firefight ensued.
The NATO-led mission in Afghanistan said that eight civilian contractors were killed along with one of its service members. The base houses U.S. and coalition troops that help train Afghan forces.
The radical Islamist insurgents claimed responsibility forboth the police academy attack and the battle at the U.S.special forces base, though not for the truck bomb.
Camp Integrity is run by U.S. security contractor Academi, which was known as Blackwater before being sold to investors.Academi did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The attack is the first in Kabul since news emerged that the leaders of two of the country’s most powerful insurgent networks had died – possibly years before the official announcements.
“Our nation is in mourning”, said Aryan Afghan, who took part in the vigil. “When we hear about different processes including the peace process, they are all the propaganda campaigns by the enemy”, the message says.
The service member killed in Friday’s attack is the third American military death in Afghanistan this year.
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“The Afghan people are resilient, but the suffering caused by [these attacks] in terms of civilian deaths, injuries, and the loss of family members, is extreme, irreversible and unjustifiable”, the UN mission in Afghanistan said in a statement.
