3 soldiers said to be wounded in attack on Afghan army unit

FILE: Afghanistan flag (Photo By Various – This vector image includes elements that have been taken or adapted from this: National emblem of Afghanistan.svg., CC BY-SA 4.0)

KABUL — Insurgents attacked an Afghan army unit guarding a military academy in the capital Kabul on Monday, and at least three soldiers were wounded, officials said.

A suicide bomber first attacked the army unit responsible for providing security for the military academy, and the attack was followed by a gunbattle in which the soldiers were wounded, said Dawlat Waziri, spokesman for the Afghan defence ministry.

The attack started around 4 a.m., witnesses said, and fighting was continuing after daybreak.

Afzal Aman, commander of the Army Garrison, confirmed that an army unit was attacked with hand grenades around the area of the Marshal Fahim academy.

Hashmat Faqeri, a resident near the site, told The Associated Press he has heard sounds of explosions and a gunbattle.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but both Taliban insurgents and militants from the Islamic State group have stepped up attacks against Afghan security forces.

Attacks have also increased recently in Kabul.

An attacker drove an ambulance filled with explosives into the heart of the city on Saturday, killing at least 103 people and wounding another 235. Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak said Sunday the attack involved a second ambulance that left the area, indicating some attackers escaped.

The Taliban claimed that attack, as well as an attack a week earlier in which militants stormed a luxury hotel in Kabul, killing 22 people, including 14 foreigners, and setting off a 13-hour battle with security forces.

Masoom Stanekzai, the head of Afghanistan’s intelligence service, said five suspects have been arrested for their involvement in the attack on the Intercontinental Hotel and that another had fled the country. He said four people have been arrested in connection with Saturday’s attack.