Kabul, Jan 29 (IANS) At least 11 soldiers and four militants were killed on Monday after the Islamic State attacked an army camp in western Kabul, the seventh major attack in the country this month.
Some 16 Afghan army personnel were also wounded in the predawn attack, for which the IS claimed responsibility, the country's Defence Ministry said in a statement.
The attack started when five militants stormed a battalion of the army's Kabul 111 Division in the Charrah-i-Qambar area located in Police District 5 and also fired on the nearby Marshal Fahim National Defence University, according to Xinhua news agency.
The statement, however, rejected earlier reports of the IS fighters attacking the university, saying that the target of the militants was the battalion, where the attackers had used assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.
According to the statement, after a few hours of fighting, the security personnel were able to kill two attackers. One attacker was arrested by the army and two others detonated their suicide vests during the clashes.
Monday's incident came on the heels of a massive car bombing in central Kabul two days ago, which killed about 103 people and injured 235, the deadliest attack in months.
On Saturday, terrorists blew up an ambulance laden with explosives. The attack, for which the Taliban claimed responsibility, followed another assault by their militants on a luxury hotel in Kabul a week ago that killed 22 people.
As rampant terror attacks have dealt a heavy blow to the country, the UN and multiple countries strongngly condemned the Saturday's attack.
Kabul, with a population of nearly five million, has been hit by series of terror attacks over the past couple of years.
