KABUL (Reuters) - Two Taliban suicide bombers on Thursday killed at least 27 people and wounded around 40 in an attack on buses carrying newly graduated cadets on the western outskirts of Kabul, officials said.

The attacks underline the threat to security in Afghanistan about a week ahead of a NATO summit in Warsaw, where leaders are expected to discuss whether to maintain support for the Kabul government 15 years after the Taliban were driven from power.

The green buses, clearly identifiable as police vehicles, were attacked and partially destroyed as they approached the capital from neighboring Wardak province, leaving debris strewed across the road.

An Interior Ministry official said at least 27 people were killed and 40 wounded in the attack during Islam's holy month of Ramadan. In a statement, the Taliban said around 150 police had been killed and dozens more injured.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the first attack targeted a bus carrying police cadets and instructors. Then, as rescuers and emergency services arrived, a second bomber rammed his car, packed with explosives, into their vehicles, killing dozens.

The attacks were immediately condemned by NATO's Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan as well as President Ashraf Ghani, who called the incident a "crime against humanity".

"While Muslims are busy praying during this holy month of Ramadan, Taliban keep committing reprehensible crimes by killing innocent people and spreading fear and terror," he said in a statement.

He ordered an inquiry into how the Taliban could mount an apparently carefully planned operation, despite pledges of a security clampdown in Kabul following recent attacks.

Beyond the immediate impact, the attacks cast further doubt on any resumption of peace talks with the Taliban.

Even before the death of former leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a U.S. drone strike last month, prospects appeared remote after the Taliban refused to join talks sponsored by the United States, China and Pakistan.

Under new leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada the insurgents have made clear they will continue attacks on the Western-backed government, and maintained their demand for international forces to quit the country.

Last week, the top U.N. official in Afghanistan warned of the danger of a new spiral of violence following recent suicide attacks and highway kidnappings.

The latest suicide bombings come 10 days after 14 people died in an attack on a bus carrying Nepali security guards working for the Canadian embassy in Kabul.

In April, 64 people were killed in a Taliban attack on a security services facility in Kabul, the deadliest such bombing since 2011. </s> Afghan officials: 14 killed, 145 wounded in Taliban suicide car bombing at police station in Kabul earlier in the day

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan officials: 14 killed, 145 wounded in Taliban suicide car bombing at police station in Kabul earlier in the day. </s> At least 35 people have been killed and more than 40 wounded after a suicide car bomb targeted a bus carrying ministry staff in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, officials said.

Intelligence officials told Al Jazeera that the bus was carrying staff of the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum when it came under attack on Monday.

The attack happened just before 7am local time (02:30 GMT) and took place close to the house of the deputy government Chief Executive Mohammad Mohaqi, said officials.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement sent to Al Jazeera.

The bus was destroyed, along with three other cars and several shops in the area, said Kabul's police chief spokesman, Basir Mujahed, adding children were among the wounded.

READ MORE: UN condemns jump in Afghan civilian deaths

Najib Danish, an acting interior ministry spokesman, added that the casualty toll could rise.

"It was a very loud blast, and my shop is completely destroyed," Baqi Mohammadi told Al Jazeera.

"The Taliban has attacked innocent people. Who has ever benefited from killing innocent people?"

Spokesman Mujahed said the "bomber struck at one of the busiest times of the day".

"There were traffic jams with people going to work and to the university and schools. Many of the shops had just opened," said Mujahed.

Al Jazeera's Jennifer Glasse, reporting from Kabul, said the Hazara community had called a demonstration for Monday to commemorate a suicide bombing that killed 84 in the same area on July 23 last year.

The Hazaras are one of Afghanistan's largest ethnic minorities, accounting for up to 20 percent of Afghanistan's 30 million inhabitants.

The demonstration was postponed because of security risks.

"Security has been very tight in Kabul," she said. "This morning, new barrier gates went up that limit the height of trucks coming into the city."

Hazaras are often the target of sectarian violence in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

One-year anniversary

On Monday, Kabul's Hazara community was due to mark the one-year anniversary of an attack in the capital that killed 84 and wounded more than 300 people, mostly members of the ethnic minority.

That attack was the first in Afghanistan claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group, which has since carried out multiple attacks targeting the country's Shia minority.

The latest suicide bombing adds to the unrelenting violence in Afghanistan, where at least 1,662 civilians were killed in the first half of the year.

Kabul is regularly rocked by suicide bombs and attacks. A recent UN report showed that attacks on the capital accounted for nearly one-fifth of all Afghan civilian casualties in the first half of 2017.

READ MORE: Desperate journeys - Persecuted Hazara flee Afghanistan

Many died in a single devastating attack in Kabul in late May when a truck bomb exploded, also during the morning rush hour, killing more than 150 people and injuring hundreds.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan put the civilian death toll at 92, saying it was the deadliest incident to hit the country since 2001.

NATO's combat mission in Afghanistan ended three years ago, handing sole responsibility to the country's security forces, which have also suffered casualties as they try to beat back the Taliban and contain the growing threat from the ISIL group.

Kabul has accounted for at least 20 percent of all civilian casualties this year, including at least 150 people killed in the massive truck bomb attack at the end of May, according to UN figures. </s> [Breaking news update, published at 8:30 a.m. ET]

At least 21 people were killed and 20 others were injured when two car bombs exploded Tuesday on a road outside the American University of Afghanistan in Kabul, said Saleem Rasooli, head of Kabul hospitals.

[Original story, published at 8:20 a.m. ET]

Two car bombs exploded Tuesday on a road outside American University of Afghanistan in Kabul, a Kabul police official said.

At least three people were injured and taken to a hospital, a spokesman for the county’s Ministry of Public Health said.

The Taliban claim responsibility for the blasts, Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said.

Developing story — more to come </s> KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide bomber rammed his car packed with explosives into a bus carrying government employees in the Afghan capital early on Monday, killing 24 people and wounding 42 others, Kabul’s chief police spokesman said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the assault.

The attack took place in a western Kabul neighborhood where several prominent politicians reside and at rush hour, as residents were heading to work and students were on their way to a nearby private high school, said Basir Mujahed, the spokesman.

“The bomber attacked at one of the busiest times of the day,” the spokesman said. “There were traffic jams with people going to work and to the university and schools. Many of the shops had just opened.”

Several residents of Kabul who were lightly wounded in the explosion criticized the lapse in security measures they say enabled the bombing.

Amir Helam, whose friend died in the explosion, told Afghanistan’s Tolo TV that “every day people are dying. If you cannot bring peace then please leave and bring other people.”

The bus was completely destroyed, along with three other cars and several shops in the area, said Mujahed, adding children were among the wounded.

Noorullah, who uses just one name, was in his dormitory at a nearby university when the explosion occurred. He says he “saw so many injured people and cars burning.” Noorullah received minor injuries from flying glass.

Kabul has been battered by explosions claimed by the Taliban and by the Islamic State group’s affiliate in Afghanistan. On May 31, the Afghan capital saw its worst suicide attack since the Taliban’s collapse in 2001 — an attack that killed 150 people and wounded scores.

In a statement the Interior Ministry called Monday’s attack “a criminal act against humanity.”

The police spokesman said the minibus was carrying employees of the mines and petroleum ministry.

The Taliban, in a statement to the media, said they were behind the bombing and that the attack was carried out by an insurgent only identified as Ahmad.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, said the target of the bombing was the intelligence services and their employees. He claimed the bus was filled with employees of the intelligence services and that Taliban insurgents spent the last two months shadowing the intelligence services employees before carrying out the attack. He also claimed 37 people were killed, but the Taliban often exaggerate their battlefield gains and death tolls.

“Once again, these terrorist are attacking civilians and targeting government staff,” Ghani said in a statement.

Pakistan issued a statement condemning the attack and saying that “terrorism is a common enemy.”

Pakistan has been bitterly criticized by both the United States and the Afghan government for providing safe havens to Taliban insurgents, a charge it strongly denies. Both countries routinely accuse the other of harboring their enemy insurgents.

Monday’s attack was the second against employees of the mines and petroleum ministry. Last year, a bus carrying the ministry’s employees was also targeted in an attack that killed several people.

The western Kabul neighborhood where the attack occurred is home to many prominent political leaders, such as Hazara leader Mohammad Mohaqiq.

Several attacks have occurred in the neighborhood, including the suicide attack last month that killed prominent Shiite Muslim cleric Ramazan Hussainzada, who was also a senior leader of the ethnic Hazara community.

Eyewitnesses to Monday’s attack said shattered glass from nearby buildings was scattered all over the street.

“The sound was very strong, the ground shook,” said Mohammed Nader, who owns a convenience store in the neighborhood.

The Taliban have stepped up their attacks against both Afghan forces and civilians since U.S. and other NATO-led foreign combat troops pulled out of the country at the end of 2014, leaving only an advisory and training contingent of international forces. In addition, American troops in Afghanistan have a counterterrorism role.

The insurgents have also steadily expanded their reach across the country, staging offensives targeting entire towns and expanding their footprint.

The Afghan military and security forces, with 195,000 soldiers and more than 150,000 policemen, have struggled to contain insurgency on their own. </s> At least seven people were killed in an explosion at the entrance of a mosque in western Afghanistan Tuesday, an Afghan official said.

A bomb planted in a rickshaw detonated at the entrance gate of the main Sunni mosque in Herat City, located in the western part of Afghanistan, just before 3 p.m. local time, Afghanistan's Ministry of Interior Affairs said.

At least 16 other people were injured in the blast. Afghan officials said a funeral was being held in the mosque at the time.

The Ministry of Interior Affairs said it condemned the "terrorist attack."

AFGHAN PRESIDENT SAYS LAST WEEK'S BOMBING KILLED OVER 150

On the same day, a rocket struck the Indian diplomatic compound in Kabul. No one was injured.

The incidents comes just after Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani announced the "Kabul Process," an initiative to "secure international consensus to end transnational financing of terrorism."

Last week, a massive suicide truck bombing in the country's capital left more than 150 people dead and 300 others injured. It was the deadliest single attack in 16 years since the U.S. invaded to topple the Taliban.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. </s> A suicide car bomb targeting vehicles from the Australian embassy rocked eastern Kabul early Friday, killing a young girl and injuring 22 in an area where many expatriates reside, the Afghan interior ministry and Australian foreign affairs ministry confirmed.

"Today, a suspected vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Device was detonated near Australian Embassy vehicles while they were traveling in Kabul," the statement by Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop on the website of the embassy said Friday.

Local media showed extensive damage to the facades of nearby houses, and witnesses reported a strong explosion. Security forces could be seen rushing to the scene as passers-by helped move the wounded.

A horse was also badly injured in the blast and had to be shot dead in the street, an AFP reporter at the scene said.

Australians were not injured, according to the ministry statement.

Basir Mujahid, spokesman for the Kabul police chief, said the blast occurred in eastern Kabul, in an area that is home to a military training center, the government's customs offices and some guesthouses.

"Unfortunately around 9:00 am, a car bombing took place in (the) Qabil Bay area of Kabul. The target of the attack was a foreign forces convoy," ministry spokesman Najib Danish told AFP, giving the toll and adding that police are investigating.

No group immediately claimed the attack, which is the latest to hit Kabul, one of the deadliest places in Afghanistan for civilians as both the Taliban and the expanding Daesh terror group step up their assaults on the city.

The bombing also comes just days after Afghan president Ashraf Ghani unveiled a plan for peace talks with the Taliban, including a proposal to eventually recognize them as a political party.

Ghani revealed his plans in a speech during international peace talks in Kabul this week that went better than expected, with officials in Washington daring to hold out hope that the longest war in U.S. history may be heading to a negotiated settlement.

Kabul has recently seen a spate of large-scale terror attacks by the Taliban and also Daesh terrorists, whose affiliate in Afghanistan has grown stronger since it emerged in 2014.

In late January, a Taliban terrorist drove an ambulance filled with explosives into the heart of the city, killing at least 103 people and wounding as many as 235.

The Taliban claimed the ambulance attack, as well as an attack a week earlier in which militants stormed a luxury hotel in Kabul, killing 22 people, including 14 foreigners, and setting off a 13-hour battle with security forces.

The recent attacks have underscored the weaknesses of Afghan security forces more than 16 years after the U.S.-led invasion toppled the Taliban. </s> At least six people were killed in a bomb blast near a Mosque in Afghanistan's Herat province on Monday, said reports. No group has taken responsibilty for the blast so far.

On March 24, at least 14 persons were killed and 40 were wounded in car bomb explosion in Afghanistan's Lashkargah City. The explosion occurred at a time when people were returning home after celebrating Afghan new year.

On March 21, a suicide bomber blew himself up in Kabul on Wednesday, killing at least twenty 26 as Afghans celebrate the Persian new year holiday. The incident happened close to the Ali Abad hospital and Kabul University.

The Nowroz or New Year had a devastating beginning in Afghanistan as 26 people were left lifeless by an explosion in Kabul while 15 were injured. A suicide bomber had detonated the explosives among some pedestrians in an area near the Ali Abad Hospital and Kabul University to carry on the blood-spilling game in one of Asia's most volatile country.

The challenges to domestic security in Afghanistan have been manifold but the counter force is more specific. The Islamic State (IS) has also increased its presence in Afghanistan after things have looked down for them in Syria and Iraq and they, along with the old terror residents of Taliban, have made the threat to peace in the region much more.

The US has focused more on dealing with the Taliban in Afghanistan but that has left other terror outfits largely unaddressed. The IS has been carrying out terror activities in Afghanistan of late, including the March 21 tragedy, but one isn't sure how much the Afghan security force and its trainer - the US and the West - would still think about dealing with the IS challenge hereafter.

For breaking news & Instant updates throughout the day </s> At least 24 people have been killed and 42 wounded after a Taliban car bomb struck a bus carrying government employees in western Kabul Monday, officials said, the latest attack to strike the Afghan capital.

"The car bomb hit a bus carrying employees of the ministry of mines during rush hour," interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish told AFP.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast that hit a busy neighbourhood of the Afghan capital just before 7am (0230 GMT).

The bombing comes as the resurgent militant group has stepped up attacks across the country in recent days, with several new districts falling to the Taliban over the weekend.

The blast hit an area of the capital that is home to many Shiite Hazaras, a persecuted ethnic minority who have been targeted many times in the past.

It is also near the home of prominent politician and former warlord Mohammad Mohaqeq.

Omid Maisom Mohaqiq, a spokesman for the politician, said the bomb had detonated near the first checkpoint approaching the house, "killing and wounding some civilians".

An AFP photographer at the scene saw multiple bodies and wounded people in the street, surrounded by shattered glass as security forces cordoned off the area.

The charred remains of the bus stood in the middle of the road and a black column of smoke from the explosion hung in the air.

An army truck and forklifts were attempting to remove the carcass of the bus as ambulances as well as taxis and private cars ferried the injured to nearby hospitals, an AFP photographer said.

Kabul's Hazara community were due Monday to mark the one-year anniversary of an attack in the heart of the capital that killed 84 and wounded more than 300 people, mostly members of the ethnic minority.

That attack was the first in Afghanistan claimed by the Islamic State group, which has since carried out multiple attacks targeting the country's Shiite minority.

The Hazara community were due to hold a demonstration to mark the July 23, 2016 tragedy, but had agreed to postpone the march after meeting with President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday.

Kabul is regularly rocked by suicide bombs and attacks. A recent UN report showed that attacks on the capital accounted for nearly one-fifth of all civilian Afghan casualties in the first half of 2017.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), which has been documenting civilian casualties since 2009, said in its recent report that 1,662 civilians were killed and more than 3,500 injured in the first six months of the year.

Many died in a single devastating attack in Kabul in late May when a truck bomb exploded, also during the morning rush hour, killing more than 150 people and injuring hundreds.

UNAMA put the civilian death toll at 92, saying it was the deadliest incident to hit the country since 2001.

The bloody toll for the first six months of 2017 has unsettled the government and put increasing pressure on President Ghani.

Protests and deadly street clashes hit the Afghan capital in the wake of the May attack as people incensed by security failures called for his government's resignation.

The UNAMA report also said that nearly half of Afghanistan's 34 provinces have seen an increase in civilian deaths in the first six months of the year, mainly due to the rise in attacks by anti-government forces across the country.

NATO's combat mission in Afghanistan ended three years ago, handing sole responsibility to the country's security forces, which have also suffered spiralling casualties as they try to beat back the resurgent Taliban and contain the growing threat from the Islamic State group.
A car bombing by the Taliban kills 14 and injures over 150 in Kabul, Afghanistan.