A group of militants have attacked an army post near one of Afghanistan’s military academies in Kabul in the latest violence to strike the capital.

Five militants armed with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic rifles attacked the outpost near the well-defended Marshal Fahim military academy at about 5am (00.30 GMT) on Monday morning.

Eleven soldiers were killed and 16 wounded, a defence ministry spokesman said. Two of the attackers blew themselves up, two were killed in fighting and one was captured.

“The Afghan national army is the country’s defence force and makes sacrifices for the security and well-being of the people,” the ministry said.



Islamic State, which is believed to operate in the mountains of the eastern province of Nangarhar, claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the militant group’s Amaq news agency.

Earlier, a local resident, Mohammad Ehsan, said he had heard explosions near Marshal Fahim university and they had lasted for at least an hour. Smaller blasts at less frequent intervals could still be heard, he said.



Local television showed a heavy military and security presence near the academy, which is on the western outskirts of the city and is used to train high-ranking officers. Fifteen people were killed in an attack on the academy in October.

The raid was the latest in a wave of attacks by insurgents in Afghanistan. On Saturday, more than 100 people died when a suicide bomber used an ambulance to penetrate security and detonate a device in a crowded city street. The previous weekend at least 22 people died in an assault on the Intercontinental hotel in Kabul. The Taliban claimed responsibility for both attacks.

On Wednesday, an assault on the offices of Save the Children in Jalalabad killed six people. The attack was claimed by Isis. Several foreign organisations, including humanitarian groups, are reassessing their operations after a particularly deadly week in the country.

Militants including the Taliban and Isis have stepped up their attacks on Afghan troops and police in recent months, sapping morale already hit by desertions and corruption.

Afghan troops have taken what the UN describes as “shocking” casualties since international forces ended their combat role at the end of 2014, though casualty figures are no longer released.