AFGHANISTAN-BLAST/FOURTH Dozens killed as wave of bomb attacks hit Kabul

Record ID: 144787

  • Title: AFGHANISTAN-BLAST/FOURTH Dozens killed as wave of bomb attacks hit Kabul
  • Date: 7th August 2015
  • Summary: KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (AUGUST 7, 2015) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) NATO CONVOY IN MIDDLE OF STREET CLOSE TO AIRPORT AFTER ATTACK MORE OF NATO CONVOY AFGHAN POLICEMEN POLICE AMBULANCE ARRIVING AT SITE OF ATTACK MORE OF NATO CONVOY IN STREET SHOP WITH BROKEN WINDOWS CAUSED BY EXPLOSION SHOP'S BROKEN WINDOWS SMASHED WINDOWS BROKEN GLASS (SOUNDBITE) (Dari) OWNER OF PUMP STATION, HASS
  • Embargoed: 22nd August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Afghanistan
  • Country: Afghanistan
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVABESGX3Y5GFYZM9EMDZOWRC7PS
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A suicide bomber killed dozens of cadets at a Kabul police academy on Friday (August 7) and blasts hit an area near the airport in a wave of attacks that began with a huge early morning truck bomb explosion in the Afghan capital.
    The attacks came just over a week after the Taliban announced a new leader and appeared to dash any hope of a swift return to peace talks between the insurgent movement and the government of President Ashraf Ghani.
    A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack on the police academy, in which security sources said at least 50 or 60 people had been killed or wounded.
    "The bomber was wearing a police uniform and detonated his explosives among students who had just returned from a break," a police official said.
    Shortly afterwards, two explosions hit an area north of Kabul airport, close to a US special forces base. Small arms fire was also heard.
    Details were still unclear but the explosions took place near several potential targets, including a counter-narcotics police camp near to a base for US security contractors and a US special forces base known as Camp Integrity.
    "Anti-government elements launched a complex attack against Camp Integrity, initiated with a vehicle-borne bomb and followed by small arms fire and further explosions," one Western security source said.
    Shortly after the explosions, military jets were heard flying over the centre of Kabul.
    The evening attacks came less than 24 hours after a huge truck bomb exploded near an army compound in a residential area of Kabul, killing at least 15 people and wounding 248.
    Unlike the attack on the police station, the Taliban did not claim responsibility for the truck bombing, which claimed mainly civilian casualties, killing and wounding people in their sleep and wrecking shops and homes.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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