Terrorists strike US camp in Kabul

A NATO official said Saturday one of its soldiers was killed in an overnight attack on a key military base near Kabul. The soldiers nationality has not been released.

Authorities were still gathering information about the attack on the Camp Integrity facility which left three people dead, including two insurgents. The base, near Kabul, houses US Special Forces.

"One Resolute Support service member and two insurgent attackers were killed," Colonel Brian Tribus, chief of public affairs for NATO's Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan said in a statement.

The strike on Camp Integrity came barely 24-hours after multiple bombings rocked the Afghan capital on Friday. At least 35 were believed to have died and hundreds more were wounded. The bombings were believed to be the first major militant assaults on Kabul since the announcement of Taliban leader Mullah Omar's death last week.

Taliban's 'showcase of strength'

Attackers first struck at the center of Kabul shortly after midnight on Friday, detonating a truck bomb that killed at least 15 civilians and injured 240 others. Several hours later, 20 Afghan cadets died when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance of Kabul Police Academy.

The Afghan Taliban took responsibility for the second strike, but distanced itself from the attack which killed many civilians. No organization has yet claimed responsibility for the Camp Integrity attack.

Experts believe the terror onslaught could be a sign of the new Afghan Taliban leader, Mullah Mansour, attempting to consolidate his image among his fighters. Mullah Mansour was named the new head of the group, shortly after the death of former chief Mullah Omar became public.

"The demise of Mullah Omar divided the movement and affected the morale of their ground fighters. Hitting Kabul with a wave of powerful attacks is a way of showcasing their strength," security analyst Abdul Hadi Khaled told news agency AFP.

mg/jlw (Reuters, AFP)