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String of Bombings Shakes Afghanistan as Security Deteriorates

A succession of six attacks on police targets in Afghanistan is a fatal reminder of the challenges facing the country as foreign troops leave.
Photo via AP

Two separate bombings in Afghanistan today killed at least 10 police officers, as a third blast wounded more victims. These attacks followed three others on Sunday, targeting police and security forces in Kabul.

Afghanistan's security forces have been the target of a growing number of attacks over recent months — a sign of the challenges the country still faces as a new government settles in and most foreign troops prepare to leave.

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More than 4,600 Afghan soldiers and police have been killed in 2014 alone — more than double all US troops killed in the decade-war long. US officials have described the number of Afghan forces' casualties as "not sustainable."

Afghanistan: what we are leaving behind. Watch VICE News' documentary here.

Today in the eastern city of Jalalabad, a remote-controlled bomb hidden in a rickshaw tore through a police academy truck, killing three instructors. Shortly after, in Logar provice, south of Kabul, a suicide bomber wearing a police uniform blew himself up by a local police headquarters — killing seven officers, including a prominent commander. A third blast, which injured three people, was also reported in Kabul.

The video below shows the aftermath of the attack in the capital, which was carried out with a bomb hidden in a flower bed near the university.

On Sunday three separate bombings hit also police targets in Kabul. In one of them, a man wearing a military uniform entered the capital's police headquarters and killed the office manager, Col. Mohammad Yasin Khan. The Taliban claimed responsibility for those attacks.

The video below, from a local news station, shows the aftermath of Sunday's attack at the police HQ.

The US just can't stop blowing billions in Afghanistan. Read more here.

Follow Alice Speri on Twitter: @alicesperi