Two suicide blasts rock Kabul, target peace plan

Two suicide blasts within a span of 24 hours have struck Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan. This is the first major attack on the capital after the death of the legendary one-eyed Mullah Omar was announced. The blasts killed around 35 people and injured more than 100 people. The first attack killed 15 people and wounded 240 people, according to news reports. The second attack killed 20 Afghan cadets when a suicide bomber dressed as a policeman blew himself up at the entrance of the Kabul Police Academy. These attacks have happened after the new Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour has taken over, and is trying to strengthen his position and image in front of the Taliban cadres.

The Taliban, while claiming responsibility for the second attack, did not claim the first attack. The second attack also raises questions about the vulnerability of the security forces facing Taliban after the NATO forces ended combat operations in the country. According to some analysts, Mullah Akhtar Mansour is intensifying attacks to divert the attention away from divisions within Taliban. The resurgence of Taliban and attack on the capital could further derail the already faltering peace talks between the Afghanistan government and the Taliban.

A security cordon has been established around the military base area which is close to a middle class residential area which doesn’t have foreign presence. It is going to be challenging for the Afghan government in the near future to tackle the escalating attacks in the country by Taliban and ensure success of peace talks with Taliban at the same time.

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