NATO serviceman dead as series of explosions in Kabul kill at least 42

Some 42 people - including a Nato serviceman - have been killed and hundreds injured as the Afghan capital Kabul was hit by a series of explosions, including a suicide bombing outside a police academy. An attacker dressed in a police uniform walked up to a group of recruits and detonated his explosives-laden vest after a massive truck bomb explosion near a government complex and military base in a residential area. The blast was one of the largest ever in Kabul, flattening a city block and leaving a 30ft crater. It showed that militants were still able to strike at Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s heavily fortified centre of power.

The question is, who is sending the message?

Thomas Ruttig of the Afghanistan Analysts Network

And the explosions marked a major challenge to the leader, who has made the peace process with the Taliban the hallmark of his presidency since taking office last year. Mr Ghani said he would respond to the attacks with “force and power” but also said he was also determined to continue with efforts to bring peace to the country. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks, though officials indicated they blamed the Taliban. Mullah Mohammad Omar, the reclusive one-eyed founder and leader of the Taliban, died two years ago, it has recently been disclosed, and his successor Mullah Akhtar Mansoor has been struggling to heal rifts in the Taliban.

The hope of some people was that the death of Mullah Omar would put the Taliban in disarray and possibly weaken them.

Thomas Ruttig

World Kabul bomb