A coordinated attack on a compound of the Afghan army in capital Kabul left at least 11 soldiers dead Jan. 29, authorities report. Two suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the barracks of the army's 111th division in Qargha district before a small team of gunmen moved in. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack through its Amaq news agency. This was the third large attack in Kabul since Jan. 20, when Taliban insurgents launched an assault on the Intercontinental Hotel that left over 20 dead. The second attack came Jan. 27, when presumed Taliban militants detonated an ambulance packed with explosives near an Interior Ministry compound, killing over 100. Another six people were killed in an assault claimed by ISIS on the office of aid group Save the Children in the eastern city of Jalalabad. (Khaama Press, NPR, Reuters)
Photo: Khaama Press
ISIS claims Nowruz attack in Kabul
ISIS claimed responsibility for a suicide attack that killed at least 26 people in Kabul and injured dozens more on the road to a Shiite shrine amid celebrations of the Nowruz spring festival. The attacker able to get within 200 meters of the shrine before he detonated his payload in the midst of a crowd. It was the fifth major attack in Kabul in recent weeks. (The National UAE, March 21)
ISIS targets elections in Afghanistan
A bombing inside a mosque that was being used as a voter registration center in Khost killed at least 14 people and wounded dozens more May 6. (AP) A suicide bomber dispatched struck a voter registration center in Kabul on April 22. Dozens were killed, including women and children, and more than 100 others were wounded in the blast. An ISIS statement identified the victims as "Rafidi Mushrikin" or "Shiite polytheists." (LWJ) The parliamentary elections planned for October would be the first held in Afghanistan since 2014, but repeated attacks have delayed voter registration. (NPR)