Powerful Bomb Blast Rocks Kabul, Killing At Least 10 Civilians

In one attack, a suicide bomber dressed in police uniform targeted police recruits in front of the Kabul Police Academy, killing 25 and injuring 28 more.

The evening attacks came less than 24 hours after a huge truck bomb exploded near an army compound in a residential area of Kabul, killing at least 15 people and wounding 248.

The bomber managed to place himself in a queue as police trainees were waiting to be searched before entering the academy, the official said.

The responsibility for the bomb blast which had shaken the center of the capital, and had ripped through homes and shops, had not been claimed by any of the group.

Following the confirmation of Mullah Omar’s death, the peace talks scheduled for July 31 in Pakistan were also postponed at the request of the Taliban leadership. All of the victims are said to be civilians that also include women and children. The bombing left a hole in the army base wall, but casualties have not been made public in that incident.

The health ministry said the number of wounded could run even higher, with most suffering injuries from flying glass.

The blast was an unusually powerful one in a city often targeted by the Taliban and other militants seeking to destabilise the troubled unity government led by Ghani.

Kabul police chief General Abdul Rahman Rahimi said officials were searching for anyone trapped under the mangled concrete debris.

Shortly afterwards, two explosions hit an area north of Kabul airport, close to a U.S. special forces base.