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400 Victims of violence in Afghanistan over last 2 days

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IANS Kabul
Last Updated : Aug 09 2015 | 4:02 AM IST

Violence in Afghanistan has left more than 400 victims between the dead and wounded over the last two days, particularly in Kabul and among civilians, with the bloodiest attacks since the Taliban leader Mullah Omar died.

At the same time, internal disputes broke out among the Afghan Taliban about who would take over Mullah Omar's leadership, reports Efe.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, said on Saturday in a communique that Friday saw "the largest number of civilians killed and wounded in one day" since the count of victims began in 2009, with 42 civilians dead and 313 wounded in the Afghan capital alone.

UNAMA condemned the series of attacks that began at dawn Friday, the first since Taliban leader Mullah Omar died and the new insurgent chief, Akhtar Mansour, was named in a context of internal rivalry over the succession.

The Taliban assumed responsibility for the attacks then perpetrated by suicide bombers, including one in Kabul at the Police Academy that left 40 dead and wounded, many of them civilians, and another against a NATO base that killed one US soldier and eight Afghans, members of the civilian personnel of the allied mission.

NATO called a halt in 2014 to its combat mission in Afghanistan, substituted since January by Operation Resolute Support, which has some 4,000 soldiers engaged in assistance and training tasks.

The US is keeping 9,800 military deployed until the end of the year as part of its "anti-terrorist" mission in Afghanistan.

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First Published: Aug 09 2015 | 3:52 AM IST

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