In a daring push, bombers with the Taliban militant group have staged back-to-back attacks against separate highly-secured locations in the Afghan capital Kabul.
The Afghan Health Ministry said at least 16 people were killed in the attacks that rocked a police precinct in western Kabul and the building of National Directorate of Security, which is Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, AFP reported.
The first assault, which saw a bomber detonate explosives planted on a vehicle, was followed by an exchange of fire between the militants and law enforcement agents.
According to the Interior Ministry, the second blast happened shortly afterwards.
Ministry spokesman Najibullah Danish said, “There are casualties from the first attack and we also have reports of gunfights, but at this stage we cannot confirm whether it is a complex attack.”
The ministry later revised up its report to one dead and 35 wounded.
The rise in Taliban attacks comes as the militant group is preparing for its notorious annual spring offensive against the violence-weary nation.
On Monday night, at least 11 Afghan policemen were killed by a Taliban militant who had infiltrated the ranks of the police force in Lashkargah City, the provincial capital of Helmand.