A week of bloodshed: Deadly attacks in Afghanistan between October 17-23

The past week has been one of the bloodiest in war-weary Afghanistan in recent memory

epa06270553 Afghan police who were injured in a suicide bomb attack that targeted a Police post, receive medical treatment at a hospital in Paktia, Afghanistan, 17 October 2017. At least 15 people were killed and 85 others were wounded, most of them Afghan security forces officers, in an attack claimed by Taliban on an important police post in Paktia province in eastern Afghanistan. Over the last two and a half years, the Afghan government has been losing ground to the Taliban and now controls only 57 percent of the country, according to the United States Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). EPA/AHMADULLAH AHMADI

Afghan police who were injured in a suicide bomb attack that targeted a police training centre receive medical treatment at a hospital in Paktia on October 17, 2017. Ahmadullah Ahmadi / EPA

The National

Oct 23, 2017

Monday October 23

An Afghan official said four policemen were killed in a Taliban attack on a security post in the southeastern province of Ghazni

Saturday October 21

epa06280656 Afghan security officials remove a damaged vehicle after a suicide bomb attack that targeted Marshal Fahim military academy in Kabul, Afghanistan, 21 October 2017. At least 15 Afghan military cadets were killed and four were injured in the attack claimed by Taliban militants. The bombing came a day after two suicide attacks at Afghan mosques left at least 80 people dead. EPA/HEDAYATULLAH AMID — Afghan security officials remove a damaged vehicle after a suicide bomb attack targeted the Marshal Fahim military academy in Kabul on Saturday. Hedayatullah Amid / EPA

A suicide bomber killed 15 army trainees and wounded four others as they travelled home on a bus from their base in Kabul, the Afghan capital. The Taliban claimed the attack.

Friday October 20

An Afghan man walks inside the Imam Zaman Shiite mosque the day after a suicide attack during evening prayers, in Kabul on October 21, 2017.
A strong smell of blood and flesh permeated the Imam Zaman mosque in Kabul on October 21 hours after dozens of Shiite worshippers were slaughtered by a suicide bomber during evening prayers. Broken glass and dust covered the red carpet, soaked in the blood of the men, women and children who had been praying on Friday when the attacker blew himself up, causing carnage in the cavernous prayer hall.
/ AFP PHOTO / WAKIL KOHSAR — An Afghan man walks inside the Shiite Imam Zaman mosque in Kabul on October 21, 2017, the day after a suicide attack struck during evening prayers. Wakil Kohsar / AFP

A suicide bomber blew himself up in the Shiite Imam Zaman mosque during evening prayers in Kabul, killing 56 people and wounding 55 others. ISIL claimed the attack.

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Separately, another suicide bombing killed at least 33 people at a mosque in the central province of Ghor on Friday. That attack appeared to target a local leader from the Jamiat political party, said Balkh provincial governor Atta Mohammad Noor, a leading figure in Jamiat. No one claimed responsibility.

Thursday October 19

Around 50 soldiers were killed in a Taliban assault on a military base in the southern province of Kandahar. The militants razed the base to the ground.

epa06276038 Afghan Army soldier stands guard at a check point on the outskirts of Jalalabad, Afghanistan, 19 October 2017. Security in Nangarhar has been intensified following attacks by Taliban militants at a military base in Kandahar that killed at least 43 soldiers. Over the last two and a half years, the Afghan government has been losing ground to the Taliban and now controls only 57 percent of the country, according to the United States Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR). EPA/GHULAMULLAH HABIBI — Afghan soldiers stand guard at a checkpoint on the outskirts of the city of Jalalabad on October 19 2017. Security in Nangarhar province was intensified following a Taliban attack on a military base in Kandahar province that killed around 50 soldiers earlier in the day. Ghulamullah Habibi / EPA

Elsewhere, Taliban insurgents besieged a police headquarters in Ghazni province, attacking it for the second time in a week.

Tuesday October 17

Afghan security personnel walk at the site of a suicide attack at a police training centre in Gardez, capital of Paktia province, on October 17, 2017.
The death toll in an ongoing suicide and gun attack on a police training centre in a southeast Afghan city has risen to 32 with more than 200 wounded, a hospital official said October 17. "The hospital is overwhelmed and we call on people to donate blood," said Shir Mohammad Karimi, deputy health director in Gardez. / AFP PHOTO / FARID ZAHIR — Afghan security personnel walk through the site of a suicide attack that struck a police training centre in Gardez, the capital of Paktia province, on October 17, 2017. Farid Zahir / AFP

Dozens of security personnel were killed and scores wounded in Taliban attacks on a police headquarters in Ghazni province and a police training centre in the eastern province of Paktia. A senior provincial commander was among the dead.