Taliban militants launched a twin suicide attack on Thursday, targeting a convoy of buses carrying Afghan police cadets outside of the capital and killing 37 people, mostly policemen, and wounding 40, an Afghan official said.
(FOX)- “The Taliban have once again shown their total disregard for human life. Their increased use of improvised explosive devises are taking a very heavy toll on the Afghan people,” Brig. Gen. Charles Cleveland, spokesman for NATO-led Resolute Support, responded. “We strongly condemn the actions of Afghanistan’s enemies and remain firmly committed to supporting our Afghan partners and the National Unity Government.”
The attack took place in Paghman district, some 12 miles west of Kabul, according to Mousa Rahmati, the district governor of Paghman.
The first suicide attacker struck two buses carrying trainee policemen, and a second attacker targeted those who rushed to the scene to help and also hit a third bus, Rahmati said. He said that four civilians were among those killed.
The cadets were returning from a training center in Wardak province and were heading to the capital on leave, Rahmati said.
In a statement later on Thursday, the Interior Ministry said that 30 police recruits had been killed and 58 others wounded in the attack. It was not immediately possible to reconcile the different casualty figures.