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Taliban claims responsibility for double suicide attacks in response to U.S.-Afghan security agreement

The Taliban responded violently to the U.S. and Afghanistan signing a crucial security agreement, conducting two suicide attacks in Kabul that killed seven Afghan soldiers and injured others.

By JC Finley
The Taliban launched two suicide attacks in Kabul, Afghanistan on October 1, 2014 in response to the U.S. and Afghanistan signing a Bilateral Security Agreement. (UPI)
The Taliban launched two suicide attacks in Kabul, Afghanistan on October 1, 2014 in response to the U.S. and Afghanistan signing a Bilateral Security Agreement. (UPI) | License Photo

KABUL, Afghanistan, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- The Taliban claimed responsibility for two suicide attacks targeting Afghan soldiers a day after the U.S. and Afghanistan signed a Bilateral Security Agreement.

"By signing the agreement, the status of the Kabul administration, in particular the status of soldiers and police is clear," the Taliban said in a statement. "They are working for the interests of others, and their killing is important."

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According to Kabul police spokesman Hashmatullah Stanikzai, both attacks on Wednesday targeted buses, killing and wounding Afghan soldiers.

In the first attack on Wednesday, a suicide bomber boarded a full bus in the Katre Char neighborhood and detonated his explosive vest, killing seven soldiers and wounding 15 others, including civilians.

The second attack on a bus in the Deh Sabz area injured four soldiers.

The attacks were in response to the long-delayed signing of the BSA on Tuesday. The agreement establishes a legal framework for the U.S. to train, advise and assist Afghan national security forces, and allows for the U.S. and international partners to provide necessary financial support to the Afghan forces.

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Afghanistan's first democratically-elected president, Ashraf Ghani, was sworn in on Monday. One of his most important and challenging tasks as the embattled country's new leader will be to strengthen Afghanistan's security forces.

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