Afghan attacks death toll reaches 42

PanARMENIAN.Net - A wave of attacks on Afghan police, army and NATO installations in Kabul killed at least 42 people and wounded hundreds, dashing hope that Taliban insurgents might be weakened by a leadership struggle after news of their longtime leader's death, Reuters reports.

The attacks on Friday, which included a massive truck bomb in a heavily populated civilian area and a suicide attack on a police academy, were some of the most serious in months and the first in Kabul since the Taliban named a new leader last week.

They represent another blow to a tentative peace process that held its first meeting in July but was suspended last week.

Kabul has frequently been targeted by the Taliban and other insurgent groups seeking to destabilize the fragile government of President Ashraf Ghani although the scale of the latest attacks was unusually large.

The Taliban are in the midst of a leadership dispute following last week's appointment of Mullah Akhtar Mansour as new leader. Mansour, who had previously been seen as open to peace talks, pledged to continue the insurgency that has killed and wounded thousands this year.

A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack on the police academy in Kabul.

"The bomber was wearing a police uniform and detonated his explosives among students who had just returned from a break," a police official said.

At least 26 people were killed and 28 more wounded at the police academy, according to an Afghan police official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Afghan war between the Western-backed government and the Taliban has intensified since the NATO combat mission ended last year.