Car bomb kills 15 Afghan army personnel in Kabul

This is the second terror attack in the capital in 24 hours after a suicide attack at a Shi'ite mosque killed more than 50 worshippers on Friday night

October 21, 2017 08:07 pm | Updated 08:07 pm IST - Kabul

Afghan men grieve near the grave of a victim who died during Friday night's suicide attack at the Shiite mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Saturday.

Afghan men grieve near the grave of a victim who died during Friday night's suicide attack at the Shiite mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Saturday.

A suicide attacker detonated a car full of explosives on Saturday outside Afghanistan's top military training centre in Kabul, killing at least 15 soldiers, a military spokesman said.

Coming after a particularly deadly week for Afghanistan's security forces, it was the second major attack in the capital in 24 hours after a suicide attack at a Shi'ite mosque killed more than 50 worshippers on Friday night.

“Army personnel were coming out of Marshal Fahim University when a suicide bomber in a car targeted them. Fifteen soldiers who were there for training were killed and four others were wounded,” Ministry of Defence spokesman Dawlat Wazari said.

The university, on the western outskirts of Kabul, is home to the Afghan military's officer training school and other training academies.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but Taliban insurgents have conducted a wave of attacks this week on Afghan forces who have been struggling since most foreign troops left at the end of 2014.

On Thursday, the Taliban stormed a military base in the southern province of Kandahar, killing at least 43 of the 60 soldiers manning the base, which was left in ruins.

Two days earlier, at least 36 security personnel were killed and scores wounded in Taliban attacks on government compounds in Paktia and Ghazni provinces, with a senior provincial police commander among the dead.

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