11 soldiers, four attackers die in Kabul army camp attack

KABUL, Jan 29 (XINHUA): Eleven army soldiers and four assailants were killed Monday after gunmen attacked an army camp in western Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, said the country's Defense Ministry.

Some 16 Afghan army personnel were also wounded in the predawn attack claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.

The attack started at 05:00 a.m. local time when five militants stormed a battalion of army's Kabul 111 Division in Charrah-i-Qambar area located in Police District 5 and also fired on the nearby Marshal Fahim National Defense University, according to sources.

Earlier, the IS group claimed that its fighters attacked Marshal Fahim National Defense University, but the claim has been rejected by the defense ministry in the statement, which said the target of the militants was "a battalion of army's Kabul 111 Division, where the attackers had used assault rifles and Rocket Propelled Grenades (RPGs) in the predawn clash."

According to the statement, after a few hours of fighting, the security personnel were able to kill two attackers, one attacker was arrested by army and two others detonated their suicide vests during the clashes.

The army soldiers also found one RPG launcher, four AK-47 guns and a suicide vest, the statement said.

The capital city with a population of nearly 5 million has been hit by a series of terror attacks from time to time.

Taliban outfit has claimed responsibility for the deadly attacks on Intercontinental Hotel and central part of Kabul on Jan. 20 and Jan. 27 respectively.