At least 5 killed as gunmen attack army post at Kabul military academy

Gunmen launched a pre-dawn raid on a military compound in Kabul on Monday, officials said, in an assault that caused multiple casualties and marked the third major attack in the city in recent days.

Ministry of defence officials said five militants armed with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic rifles attacked the outpost near the well-defended Marshal Fahim military academy on Monday morning.

Five soldiers were killed and 10 wounded, officials said. Two of the attackers blew themselves up, two were killed in fighting and one was captured.

“The Afghan national army is the country’s defence force and makes sacrifices for the security and well-being of the people,” the ministry said.

Earlier on Monday, the Afghan Presidential Spokesman Shahhussain Murtazawi said that the attackers were restricted to the first gate of the academy.

The Afghan security forces have cordoned off the area as the attack is ongoing.

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the militant group’s Amaq news agency.

On Saturday, more than 100 people died when a suicide bomber used an ambulance to penetrate security and detonate a device in a crowded city street. The previous weekend at least 22 people died in an assault on the Intercontinental hotel in Kabul. The Taliban claimed both attacks.

On Wednesday, an assault on the offices of Save the Children in Jalalabad killed six people. The attack was claimed by Islamic State.