Five killed in suicide blast in Afghan capital

Fahim was a former defense minister and among the anti-Taliban fighters who entered Kabul with the US-led coalition in 2001 after the Taliban were overthrown. (File/AFP)

• The blast took place at the entrance to a government-run defense university
• No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack

KABUL: A suicide bomber killed five people near a military academy in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Tuesday, the interior ministry said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack near the entrance to the government-run defense university, the Marshal Fahim Military Academy, at the beginning of the morning rush hour.
“Five including three military personnel and two civilians were killed,” interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi told Reuters, adding that 12 people were wounded, five of them civilians.
The academy, modelled after European war colleges to train Afghan cadets, has been the scene of several attacks in the past, including a Daesh-claimed assault last May.
Militant attacks on the Afghan and US-led security forces have continued over recent months even as the United States and Taliban militants pursue talks to finalize a peace pact.