At least five killed as Taliban and ISIS suicide bombers target police in Kabul

Taliban and ISIS group claimed responsibility for the attacks on two police stations in the Afghan capital. Officials say a total of eight suicide bombers took part in the attacks in which over a dozen people were wounded as well.

Suicide bombers struck two police stations in Afghanistan’s capital on Wednesday, killing at least five people and wounding 16, officials said.

Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak said a total of eight suicide bombers took part in the attacks, one of which was claimed by Daesh group and the other by the Taliban.

In the first attack, in western Kabul, the attackers hurled hand grenades and blew themselves up, setting part of the station on fire, Barmak said, adding that a third suicide bomber was shot and killed by police.

He said two police were killed in the attack and two police and a civilian were wounded. Daesh claimed the attack in a brief statement carried by its Aamaq news agency.

The second attack unfolded in the city center, where a suicide bomber struck the entrance to a police station in order to clear the way for another four bombers.

Barmak said “two or three” more attackers were holed up in a nearby building, trading fire with security forces.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement sent to media.

Public Health Ministry spokesman Wahid Majroh said a total of seven people were killed and 17 wounded in the attacks, with the toll expected to rise.

The Taliban and Daesh frequently target Afghanistan’s Western-backed government and security forces.

Elsewhere in Afghanistan, the Taliban advanced on a district compound, officials said, with one reporting the capture of the northern district by the fighters and another saying heavy fighting was still underway.

The battle for the compound in the Bilchirgh district, in the northern Faryab province, came a day after the militants captured the district compound in the remote Tala wa Barfak district, in the northern Baghlan province.

The Taliban have captured several districts in different parts of the country from Afghan security forces since 2014, when the US and NATO formally concluded their combat mission and shifted to a supporting role.

Mohammad Hashim, a member of parliament from Faryab province, said the Taliban captured the district headquarters in Bilchirgh early on Wednesday after more than 40 security forces retreated under heavy fire.

He said the Taliban also captured several villages nearby.

Provincial police spokesman Abdul Karim Yuresh said the fighting was still underway and that government forces still held the compound.

Source: TRT World