AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): A suicide attack targeting a military academy has killed at least six people in Kabul early on Tuesday, in what was the first major assault in the Afghan capital in months.
Along with the six - two civilians and four military personnel - killed, 12 other people, including five civilians, were wounded in the attack, said Nasrat Rahimi, the Ministry of Interior spokesman.
The Ministry of Defense, however, said five people were killed in the attack that took place at the gate of the Marshal Fahim Military Academy at approximately 7am (02:30 GMT), Reuters News Agency reported.
"It was a big explosion that rocked our house. We also heard gunfire afterwards. Ambulances rushed to the area quickly," resident Samiullah, who goes by one name, told AFP.
A security source speaking on the condition of anonymity told AFP that the attacker was on foot when he targeted a vehicle near a checkpoint as it was entering the academy, known as "Sandhurst in the Sand" in reference to the famous British school.
The military academy has been the scene of several attacks in the past, including an ISIL-claimed assault last May that left six people dead.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes after nearly three months of relative calm in the capital.
Tuesday's blast comes as Washington and the Taliban wrangle over a possible deal that would see US troops begin to leave Afghanistan in return for security guarantees from the Afghan armed group.
The last major attack in the capital was in November 2019, when at least 12 people were killed by a minivan packed with explosives that targeted a foreign security company's convoy during Kabul's morning rush hour.
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source : Al Jazeera
Tuesday
11 February 2020
2:21:45 PM
1009449
A suicide attack targeting a military academy has killed at least six people in Kabul early on Tuesday, in what was the first major assault in the Afghan capital in months.