7 killed in suicide explosion in Kabul, amid U.S.-Taliban talks
Kabul/Xinhua/UNI: At least seven people were killed and 13 others wounded after a suicide bomber attacked a military university in Afghan capital Kabul on Tuesday, amidst ongoing talks between United States and Afghan Taliban.
Nasrat Rahimi, spokesman of Interior Ministry, wrote on Twitter that one suicide bomber detonated his explosive outside Marshal Fahim National Defense University, roughly at 7:00 a.m. (local time) in Char Rahi Qambar locality, Police District 5 of the city, in the snowy day.
"As a result of the explosion, four military personnel and two civilians were killed and 13 people, including eight civilians, and five military personnel sustained wounds," he said, noting that the bomber was also killed on the spot.
The blast occurred when military cadets and university staff were arriving and waiting to enter the compound, eyewitnesses told Xinhua earlier in the day, adding the nature of the blast was suicide car bombing.
The explosion also damaged several vehicles running along the busy road, they said.
The security forces also found and defused a car bomb near the site, according to Rahimi.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet, however, Rahimi noted that "the initial information found that the attack had been launched by Taliban terrorists."
The latest terrorist attack came, as a U.S. delegation and Taliban representatives hold a couple of meetings for negotiations talks since early this month.
The Tuesday's attack was the third attack against the military university in western side of the city. The same university was attacked by a suicide bomber in late May last year, and Islamic State (IS) militants claimed responsibility for the bombing that killed six military personnel and cadets and injured seven others.
Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani and the government Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah strongly condemned the Tuesday's attack.
"I strongly condemn today's terrorist attack in Kabul. Terrorists and terrorism have no place among our people. We are united in our resolve to defeat these evil forces. Our thoughts and prayers are with victims and their families at this critical time," Abdullah tweeted.
In such attacks on security installations, many civilians has also been killed or injured because the most of security forces' offices are located at busy public places.
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