Kabul on edge as IS launches fresh attack

Assault comes two days after an ambulance bomb killed 100

KABUL - Militants attacked an Afghan army unit guarding a military academy in the capital city on Monday, killing at least 11 soldiers and wounding 16, officials said. Hours later, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the assault.

It came two days after an ambulance bomb in the center of the city killed 103 people and just over a week after another attack on the Hotel Intercontinental, also in Kabul, killed more than 20. Both of those attacks were claimed by the Taliban.

Monday's attack started around 4 am, witnesses said, and fighting continued long after daybreak.

A suicide bomber first struck the military unit responsible for providing security for the academy, followed by a gunbattle with the troops, said Dawlat Waziri, spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry.

At least five insurgents were involved in the morning assault, according to Waziri. Two of the attackers were killed in the gunbattle, two detonated their suicide vests and one was arrested by the troops, he said.

All roads leading to the military academy were blocked by police, which only allowed ambulances access to the site to transfer the wounded to hospitals.

After the gunbattle ended, the security forces resumed control of the area. They also confiscated one suicide vest, an AK-47 and some ammunition, Waziri said.

"The attack was against an army unit providing security for the academy and not the academy itself," he said.

Afzal Aman, commander of the city's military garrison, confirmed the attack at the Marshal Fahim military academy.

Hashmat Faqeri, a resident near the site, said he heard sounds of explosions and a gunbattle.

The blast was a chilling demonstration of the militants' ability to penetrate the heart of Kabul despite stepped-up security.

The military academy in Kabul was also attacked in October by a suicide bomber who killed 15 officers. The attacker was on foot and detonated his suicide vest as the on-duty officers were leaving the facility, heading home in the evening. That attack was claimed by the Taliban.

Both the Taliban and IS have stepped up attacks in recent months in Kabul and elsewhere across Afghanistan, including massive bombings staged by militants determined to inflict maximum casualties, instill terror in the population and undermine confidence in the Afghan government and the country's security forces.

On Saturday, a Taliban attacker drove an ambulance filled with explosives into the heart of the city, killing at least 103 people and wounding as many as 235.

Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak said on Sunday that the investigation into the attack indicated that a second ambulance was also involved but had left the area, indicating some would-be attackers may have escaped.

Masoom Stanekzai, the head of Afghanistan's intelligence service, said five suspects have been arrested for their involvement in the hotel attack. A sixth suspect had fled the country, he said.

He also said that four people have been arrested in connection with Saturday's ambulance attack.

The recent brutal attacks have underscored the weaknesses of Afghan security forces, more than 16 years after the US-led invasion toppled the Taliban, and raise questions about US President Donald Trump's strategy for winning his country's longest war.

The Taliban have been waging an insurgency since they were driven from power by US and Afghan forces after the Sept 11, 2001, attacks. In recent years, they have seized districts across the country and carried out near-daily attacks, mainly targeting Afghan security forces and the government.

Ap - Reuters - Afp - Xinhua

(China Daily 01/30/2018 page11)