Bombing kills 15 army cadets in Afghanistan's capital Kabul

Afghan National Army (ANA) commandos take part in a military exercise at the Kabul Military Training Center (KMTC) on the outskirts of Kabul, October 17, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

A bomb attack at a military base has claimed the lives of at least 15 Afghan army cadets in the capital Kabul, the defense ministry says.

Dawlat Waziri, an Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman, said the attack was carried out as the cadets were leaving their base on Saturday.

"This afternoon when a minibus carrying army cadets was coming out of the military academy, a bomber on foot targeted them, martyring 15 and wounding four," the spokesman said.

It was the second bombing in the Afghan capital in 24 hours and the seventh major assault in the country since October 17.

On Friday, the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group targeted two Shia mosques, one in the western district of Dasht-e-Barchi in Kabul and the other in the central province of Ghor. Nearly 90 civilians were killed. On Saturday, thousands of Afghans held a funeral for the victims of the Kabul bombing.

A day earlier, Taliban militants killed about 50 Afghan soldiers in an attack on a military base in the southern province of Kandahar.

Afghanistan is still suffering from insecurity and violence years after the United States and its allies invaded the country as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The invasion removed the Taliban from power, but militancy continues to this day. Taking advantage of the chaos, Daesh has also emerged in eastern Afghanistan.