Kabul: A suicide bomber killed dozens of cadets at a Kabul police academy and insurgents struck an area near a U.S. special forces base on Friday in a wave of attacks in the Afghan capital that began with a huge early morning truck bomb explosion.

The attacks came just over a week after the Taliban announced a new leader and appeared to dash any hope of a swift return to peace talks between the insurgent movement and the government of President Ashraf Ghani.

A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the suicide attack on the police academy, in which security sources said at least 50 or 60 people had been killed or wounded.

"The bomber was wearing a police uniform and detonated his explosives among students who had just returned from a break," a police official said.

Shortly afterwards, two explosions hit an area north of Kabul airport close to a U.S. special forces base and insurgent fighters followed up with gunfire, with fighting continuing into the early hours of the morning.

Details were still unclear but the explosions took place near several potential targets, including a counter narcotics police camp near a base for U.S. security contractors and a U.S. special forces base known as Camp Integrity.

"Anti-government elements launched a complex attack against Camp Integrity, initiated with a vehicle-borne bomb and followed by small arms fire and further explosions," one Western security source said.

Shortly after the explosions, military jets roared over the centre of Kabul and helicopters flew overhead as the fighting continued.

The evening attacks came less than 24 hours after a huge truck bomb exploded near an army compound in a residential area of Kabul, killing at least 15 people and wounding 248.

Unlike the attack on the police station, the Taliban did not claim responsibility for the truck bombing, which caused mainly civilian casualties, killing and wounding people in their sleep and wrecking shops and homes.

"Last night's attack was a cowardly terrorist attack against civilians," presidential spokesman Sayed Zafar Hashemi told reporters.

NEW TALIBAN LEADER

The bombings were the first in Kabul since Mullah Akhtar Mansour took charge of the Taliban last week, and followed a rare truck bomb attack in an eastern province on Thursday.

The compound targeted on Friday morning was used by Afghan intelligence officials, said a Western security source who declined to be identified, because the topic is a sensitive one.

The truck bomb left a hole 10 metres (33 ft) deep in the heavily populated Shah Shadid district, shattering windows and damaging cars and reducing some buildings to rubble, a Reuters witness said.

The blast was an unusually powerful one in a city often targeted by the Taliban and other militants seeking to destabilise the troubled unity government led by Ghani.

Smaller bombs or suicide attacks are a weekly occurrence in the heavily fortified capital, but large truck bombs are rare.

An official at the Emergency Hospital in Kabul said it had been flooded with almost 100 patients, including many women and children, seeking treatment for minor wounds caused by debris.

The Afghan war between the foreign-backed government and the Taliban has intensified since the NATO combat mission ended last year and most foreign troops were withdrawn.

Afghan security forces have been battling the Taliban with only limited support from coalition forces this year. About 4,000 soldiers and police are lost each month to casualties and desertions, the U.S. general in command has said.

Efforts to restart the peace process with the Taliban have stalled since the movement's reclusive founder Mullah Mohammad Omar was revealed last week to have died two years ago.

A peace official and former senior Taliban member said there were still plans to continue the dialogue, but the timing and location of talks had yet to be decided.

Attention is now focussed on internal tension in the Taliban over the question of succession, as Mansour's swift appointment by a small council of leaders in the Pakistani city of Quetta has angered others in the group.

Mansour is widely considered a pragmatist who backs peace talks but his first public message was a pledge to continue the insurgency, which has caused civilian casualties of almost 5,000 in the first half of the year, according to U.N. figures.

Madurai: Unidentified persons hurled a petrol bomb outside a multiplex showing the blockbuster Tamil film, Baahubali, on Wednesday.

Police said that no one was injured in the incident that occurred outside 'Tamil, Jaya' multiplex, at around 11.30 a.m., on the New Natham Road under Tallakulam police station limits.

The police collected few pieces of a bottle and a portion of a cinema poster that was partially burnt in the incident.

Few pamphlets purportedly left by a Dalit organisation, Puratchi Puligal, was found at the site.

The pamphlet appealed to the Tamil Nadu Government to ban the film, directed by S.S. Rajamouli, claiming that the film showed Dalits in poor light.

Police said that the outfit has been staging protests in the State for the last few days.

The other cinema hall is showing, Dhanush-starrer, Maari.

Police officials, led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic), A.G. Babu, inspected the scene of crime.

Kolkata: At least 14 passengers were injured when an explosion took place inside a compartment of Sealdah-Krishnanagar local train early Tuesday morning, an Eastern Railway official said.

R N Mahapatra, CPRO Eastern Railway, said the train left Sealdah station at 03:20 AM and reached Titagarh station at 03:55 AM. The blast took place just after a person boarded the train at Titagarh station.

Reportedly, a scuffle broke out between 2 suspected criminals who later hurled bombs at each other.

He said of the 14 injured, seven were discharged after being given first aid while seven others were admitted to a nearby hospital.

Security has been beefed up to ensure passenger safety, he said, adding that the incident appeared to be the outcome of group rivalry.

Train services along the Sealdah Main Section was normal. The railway police were investigating the incident, which appeared to be a crude bomb blast. 

Riyadh: A suicide bomber killed two Saudi guards Monday on the border with Iraq, where Daesh militants have seized a swathe of territory, the interior ministry said.

The blast in the Arar region followed a firefight between the border patrol and the assailants, one of whom was shot dead, a ministry spokesman said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.
“A border patrol in Suwayf, in the northern Arar region, came under fire by terrorist elements,” the spokesman said.

As forces killed one of the assailants, another attacker “detonated an explosive belt he was carrying” killing himself and two guards and wounding another.

The ministry did not specify how many assailants in total were involved in the dawn attack or their motives. It said an investigation was under way.

In July, three shells fired from inside Iraq hit the Arar area, without causing any casualties.

In November, Iraqi Shiite group Jaish Al Mukhtar claimed it had fired six mortar rounds into a remote area of northeastern Saudi Arabia as a “warning” to the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia shares a more than 800 kilometre (500 mile) border with Iraq.

The kingdom has been taking part in US-led air strikes against Daesh in Syria, in a move that has drawn threats of retaliation from the militants.

In a purported audio recording released on social media networks last month, Daesh leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi warned Saudi leaders they would see “no more security or rest.”

Moodabidre: As a bomb threat on Alvas college spread in twitter security has been increased in the college premise. On Monday evening man named Abdul Khader, had tweeted that a bomb will be exploded in Alvas College. Panambur ACP Ravikumar, Moodabidre SI Ramesh Kumar with other police personnel reached Alvas college. The premise of Alvas college and the people around are being closely watched.

The parents of the students studying in Alvas college got into tizzy after hearing the news of terrorist threat. President of Alvas educational institution, Dr. Mohan Alva and other officers and staff are contionously getting phone calls from the relatives and parents of the students. There are more than 18,000 students studying in the institution. Facility of sending bulk messages was provided to send messages to the relatives of the students.

Dr. Mohan Alva has cleared that there is no one named Abdul Khader studying in Alvas institution. Anyhow the list of old students will be checked he said.

Arrest in five minutes:
Efforts are on to spread terror through social media. As the modern technologies developed our defense system too has to be developed. The system of arresting the people who spread terror on social media has to be developed. Otherwise it will be difficult to face these problems in the future said Dr. Mohan Alva.

Security has been increased in Alvas campus. Parents of the students need not worry. The security in Alvas college is always very high he added.

New Delhi: India Friday tested an indigenously developed 1,000-kg glide bomb, with a top official saying the country can now launch heavy bombs for delivery up to 100 km away with high precision.

The bomb designed and developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was dropped by an Indian Air force aircraft in the Bay of Bengal off Odisha, an official statement said.

Guided by an on board navigation system, the bomb glided for nearly 100 km before hitting the target with great precision, a statement from the defence ministry said.

The flight of the glide bomb was monitored by radars and electro-optic systems stationed at the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Odisha's Balasore district, about 230 km from Bhubaneswar.

"The nation today has the capability to design, develop and launch heavy bombs for delivery up to 100 km away with high precision," said DRDO chief Avinash Chander.

He congratulated all the team members who contributed to the success. Added G. Satheesh Reddy, a distinguish scientist and director of the Research Centre Imarat (RCI): "The country has now become self-reliant in the area of guided precision bombs."

Multiple DRDO laboratories contributed towards developing the glide bomb, the statement said. The complete avionics package and navigation system was designed and developed by RCI.