Islamic State militants unleash violence on military academy, kill 11

Afghan security personnel stand by an armoured vehicle near the site of an attack near the Marshal Fahim Military Academy base in Kabul on Monday. Pic/AFP

Islamic State (IS) militants attacked Afghan soldiers guarding a military academy in the capital of Kabul on Monday, killing at least 11 troops and wounding 16. The attack was the latest in a wave of relentless violence in Kabul this month unleashed by the Taliban and the rival Islamic State group that has killed scores and left hundreds wounded.

The 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 gun battle with the troops, said Dawlat Waziri, spokesman for Afghan defense ministry. At least five insurgents were involved in the morning assault, according to Waziri. Two of the attackers were killed in the gun battle, two detonated their suicide vests and one was arrested by the troops, he said.

All roads leading to the military academy were blocked by the police, which only allowed ambulances access to the site to transfer the wounded to hospitals. After the gun battle ended, the security forces resumed control of the area. They also confiscated one suicide vest, an AK-47 and some ammunition, Waziri said. Waziri earlier said that five soldiers were killed but later raised the death toll to 11. He insisted, however that "the attack was against an army unit providing security for the academy and not the academy itself." Hashmat Faqeri, a resident near the site, said he heard sounds of explosions and a gun battle. Hours later, the IS group's affiliate in Afghanistan, posted its claim of responsibility on the website of its media arm.