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Minibus bombing in Afghanistan kills at least 15 cadets

By Allen Cone
Afghan security officials remove a damaged vehicle after a suicide bomb attack that targeted the Marshal Fahim military academy in Kabul on Saturday. At least 15 Afghan military cadets were killed and four were injured in the attack claimed by Taliban militants. Photo by Hedayatullah Amid/EPA
Afghan security officials remove a damaged vehicle after a suicide bomb attack that targeted the Marshal Fahim military academy in Kabul on Saturday. At least 15 Afghan military cadets were killed and four were injured in the attack claimed by Taliban militants. Photo by Hedayatullah Amid/EPA

Oct. 21 (UPI) -- At least 15 military cadets died Saturday in a bombing of their minibus in Kabul, bringing the death toll from attacks in Afghanistan to more than 150 in one week.

A suicide bomber on foot struck a minibus around the Marshal Fahim Military Academy in a part of Kabul that is roughly seven miles from its downtown, CNN reported.

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Dawlat Waziri, a defense ministry spokesman told VOA News four others were wounded in the explosion.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said in an email to the media. The Taliban said it was the latest incident in an ongoing insurgency campaign to target the Afghan military and allies.

NATO's Resolute Support mission posted on Twitter that the latest incident was an "attack on the future" of Afghanistan and its security forces and "this attack in #Kabul shows the insurgents are desperate and cannot win against #ANDSF on the battlefield."

Earlier Saturday, two rockets landed near the international military headquarters in Kabul but no injuries were reported.

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On Friday in Kabul, a suicide bomber set off explosives inside a mosque in the Afghan capital, security officials said.

The death toll has since risen above 50 and separately on Friday, a Sunni Muslim mosque was attacked in Ghor, killing at least 20.

"This week alone, hundreds of Afghan civilians going about their daily lives, including practicing their religious faith, have fallen victims to brutal acts of violence," Antonio Guterres, the United Nations secretary general, said in a statement. "The cycle of violence must end and dialogue commence."

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