Explosions and gunfire erupted near the main military academy in Kabul early Monday, as officials and witnesses feared insurgents had entered another heavily guarded compound in what has been an intense period of violence in the Afghan capital.
Two security officials at the scene, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as the situation was fluid, said militants set off the fighting by firing rocket-propelled grenades at Marshal Fahim University.
“A number of suicide attackers entered a unit of the Afghan national army, which is beside the military university,” said Gen. Dawlat Waziri, a spokesman for the Defense Ministry. “First, they carried out an explosion, and then they entered the unit. They are four suicide attackers, apparently, but we don’t have exact information.”
He said government forces had surrounded the attackers and three soldiers had been wounded.
Basir Mujahid, a spokesman for the Kabul police, said the attack was on a military unit close to the university and not the university itself. He said commando forces had arrived at the scene.
The violence came two days after the Taliban drove an ambulance full of explosives onto a busy Kabul street, killing at least 103 people and injuring more than 200. Last week, they attacked the Intercontinental Hotel, leading to 15 hours of fighting that left at least 22 people dead.
After Monday’s attack, ambulances rushed from the scene carrying casualties toward city hospitals, and the attack forced the closure of roads leading to the military university.
As has become routine after such attacks, parents and relatives arrived outside the security cordon where the attack occurred to try to get news of their loved ones.
“My son is a student here — when I heard about the news at 7 a.m., I came from Parwan province,” said Abdul Majid Nayel, 40, whose son, Abdul Salim, is studying to become an officer. “They told us he is fine, but I have not talked to him. I will wait here until I know my son is fine.”
Sayid Mohammad Khalid, 37, who lives close to the military university, said the attack started just after 5 a.m.
“I first head an explosion, then heavy gunfire started,” Khalid said. “I counted six or seven explosions.”
Ahmad Jalal, 25, said from the rooftop of his house that he could see about 20 bodies lying on the ground at the site of the attacks.
“What is going on in this country? We witness an attack every day. If you want to kill us every day, you might as well kill us all at once,” Jalal said. “I ask the government leaders to resign — you cannot provide security in the capital, so how can you secure the provinces?”
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.source http://www.pulse.ng/the-new-york-times/world/explosions-and-gunfire-heard-near-kabuls-military-university-id7905438.html
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