Afghanistan Police saved dozens of lives on Monday after they prevented a suicide bomber from attacking a busy area in the capital city Kabul.&nbsp;

The police shot dead a suicide bomber who was apparently planning to attack an outdoor blood donor facility in central Kabul.

The police opened fire at him as he approached the centre, in a park in the Shar-e-Naw commercial district.&nbsp;

Besides the bomber, nobody else was injured in the area.&nbsp;

Afghanistan has been witnessing a series of bomb blasts in the recent weeks. Nine journalists were killed in twin blasts that jolted capital city Kabul on April 30.

The country is undergoing an increase in bombings and other attacks since April 25, after the Taliban announced the onset of their spring season.&nbsp; 
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The suicide bomber was apparently planning to attack an outdoor blood donor facility in central Kabul

Afghanistan Police saved dozens of lives on Monday after they prevented a suicide bomber from attacking a busy area in the capital city Kabul. The police shot dead a suicide bomber who was apparently planning to attack an outdoor blood donor facility in central Kabul. The police opened fire at him as he approached the centre, in a park in the Shar-e-Naw commercial district. Besides the bomber, nobody else was injured in the area. Afghanistan has been witnessing a series of bomb blasts in the recent weeks. Nine journalists were killed in twin blasts that jolted capital city Kabul on April 30. The country is undergoing an increase in bombings and other attacks since April 25, after the Taliban announced the onset of their spring season.

Afghanistan Police prevent attack, shoot dead suicide bomber in Kabul

As many as 13 people, including both Afghan army soldiers and civilians, were killed and 18 wounded by a car bomb in the southern province of Helmand on Sunday, officials said.

Omar Zwak, the Helmand governor&#39;s spokesman who gave the casualty figures, said the attack occurred in a market in Nawa, a district in the centre of the province, which has seen heavy fighting in recent weeks as government forces have battled for control with Taliban insurgents.

Afghan forces said they had retaken Nawa district in July but there has been continued fighting in the area since.

There was no claim of responsibility and no immediate comment from the Taliban, which has carried out regular suicide attacks in Helmand, where it controls much of the area outside the provincial capital Lashkar Gah.

The hospital in Lashkar Gah run by the Italian aid group Emergency said it had received 3 dead and 19 wounded while Bost Hospital, another facility, said it had received 10 wounded.

It was unclear whether any of the wounded had died after being taken to the hospitals.

The attack comes just days after a suicide bomber in Lashkar Gah killed at least seven people and wounded 40 as the Taliban continued its push to restore strict Islamic rule to Afghanistan and drive out foreign forces backing the government in Kabul.

US&nbsp;President Donald Trump last week announced a stepped-up military campaign against Taliban insurgents who have gained ground steadily in Afghanistan since a NATO-led coalition ended its main combat mission in 2014.

As many as 13 people, including both Afghan army soldiers and civilians, were killed and 18 wounded by a car bomb in the southern province

As many as 13 people, including both Afghan army soldiers and civilians, were killed and 18 wounded by a car bomb in the southern province of Helmand on Sunday, officials said. Omar Zwak, the Helmand governor's spokesman who gave the casualty figures, said the attack occurred in a market in Nawa, a district in the centre of the province, which has seen heavy fighting in recent weeks as government forces have battled for control with Taliban insurgents. Afghan forces said they had retaken Nawa district in July but there has been continued fighting in the area since. There was no claim of responsibility and no immediate comment from the Taliban, which has carried out regular suicide attacks in Helmand, where it controls much of the area outside the provincial capital Lashkar Gah. The hospital in Lashkar Gah run by the Italian aid group Emergency said it had received 3 dead and 19 wounded while Bost Hospital, another facility, said it had received 10 wounded. It was unclear whether any of the wounded had died after being taken to the hospitals. The attack comes just days after a suicide bomber in Lashkar Gah killed at least seven people and wounded 40 as the Taliban continued its push to restore strict Islamic rule to Afghanistan and drive out foreign forces backing the government in Kabul. US President Donald Trump last week announced a stepped-up military campaign against Taliban insurgents who have gained ground steadily in Afghanistan since a NATO-led coalition ended its main combat mission in 2014.

Afghanistan: 13 killed in suicide bomb attack in Helmand

The United States has dropped its largest non-nuclear bomb on Afghanistan, killing dozens of Islamic State militants in a dramatic escalation that US President Donald Trump said had been &quot;very, very successful&quot;.

Here are five other views on the use of the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb -- dubbed the &quot;Mother Of All Bombs&quot; -- for the first time in combat since it was developed in the early days of the Iraq war.

US Central Command

General John Nicholson, the top US commander in Afghanistan, told a press conference in Kabul Friday that the bomb was the &quot;right weapon against the right target&quot;.&nbsp;

&quot;The enemy had created bunkers, tunnels and extensive mine fields, and this weapon was used to reduce those obstacles so that we could continue our offensive in southern Nangarhar,&quot; he said, adding US and Afghan forces at the site had seen &quot;no evidence of civilian casualties&quot;. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Afghan leaders

Afghanistan&#39;s president Ashraf Ghani threw his support behind the bombardment, emphasising that &quot;precautions were taken to avoid civilian casualties&quot;.&nbsp;

But other officials dissented, with several such as Omar Zakhilwal, the Afghan envoy to Pakistan, slamming the strike as &quot;reprehensible&quot; and &quot;counterproductive&quot;.&nbsp;

&quot;If big bombs were the solution we would be the most secure place on earth today,&quot; he tweeted.&nbsp;

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Analysts

As the dust settled analysts also began to question just how much the sound and fury of the strike signified, with some suggesting the decision may have been &quot;disproportionate&quot;.

&quot;The Trump administration made a lot of noise with this bomb, but the general state of play on the ground remains the same: The Taliban continues to wage a formidable and ferocious insurgency. ISIS, by comparison, is a sideshow,&quot; Michael Kugelman of the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington told AFP, using an alternative acronym for IS.

&quot;Still, from a strategic standpoint, there is an unsettling takeaway here: The US pulled off a huge shock and awe mission against an enemy that isn&#39;t even the top threat to the US in Afghanistan. The Taliban continues to sit pretty,&quot; he said.

Residents of Achin

Civilians living in Achin district appeared to welcome the bombardment.

&quot;Daesh (IS) fighters are active in this area and have overrun our houses,&quot; said Achin resident Khair Mohammad. &quot;We don&#39;t care if our houses are destroyed, we want Daesh to be eliminated.&quot;

Achin residents who spoke to AFP along the border with Pakistan, near the Torkham Gate crossing, appeared to shrug off early reports of the blast, however.&nbsp;

&quot;I heard that there was some sort of bombing last night but it&#39;s nothing new, we are used to it,&quot; welder Arshad Ali told AFP.

&quot;I talked to my family members over the phone last night and they said there had been shelling,&quot; said labourer Safdar Shinwari.

&quot;Shelling and drone strikes are routine in that area and it&#39;s nothing unusual,&quot; he added.

Islamic State

More than 20 hours after the blast, IS issued a statement denying it had suffered any casualties whatsoever.

&quot;Security source to Amaq agency denies any dead or wounded from yesterday&#39;s American strike in Nangarhar using a GBU-43/B,&quot; the group&#39;s self-styled news agency said on social media accounts.

IS rarely admits its losses after such attacks.&nbsp;

For its part, the Taliban quickly condemned what it called &quot;America&#39;s heavy use of weapons in Afghanistan&quot;.

(AFP)

&nbsp;

US had dropped the 'Mother of All Bombs' on the war-stricken country on Thursday evening

The United States has dropped its largest non-nuclear bomb on Afghanistan, killing dozens of Islamic State militants in a dramatic escalation that US President Donald Trump said had been "very, very successful". Here are five other views on the use of the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb -- dubbed the "Mother Of All Bombs" -- for the first time in combat since it was developed in the early days of the Iraq war. US Central Command General John Nicholson, the top US commander in Afghanistan, told a press conference in Kabul Friday that the bomb was the "right weapon against the right target". "The enemy had created bunkers, tunnels and extensive mine fields, and this weapon was used to reduce those obstacles so that we could continue our offensive in southern Nangarhar," he said, adding US and Afghan forces at the site had seen "no evidence of civilian casualties". Afghan leaders Afghanistan's president Ashraf Ghani threw his support behind the bombardment, emphasising that "precautions were taken to avoid civilian casualties". But other officials dissented, with several such as Omar Zakhilwal, the Afghan envoy to Pakistan, slamming the strike as "reprehensible" and "counterproductive". "If big bombs were the solution we would be the most secure place on earth today," he tweeted. Analysts As the dust settled analysts also began to question just how much the sound and fury of the strike signified, with some suggesting the decision may have been "disproportionate". "The Trump administration made a lot of noise with this bomb, but the general state of play on the ground remains the same: The Taliban continues to wage a formidable and ferocious insurgency. ISIS, by comparison, is a sideshow," Michael Kugelman of the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington told AFP, using an alternative acronym for IS. "Still, from a strategic standpoint, there is an unsettling takeaway here: The US pulled off a huge shock and awe mission against an enemy that isn't even the top threat to the US in Afghanistan. The Taliban continues to sit pretty," he said. Residents of Achin Civilians living in Achin district appeared to welcome the bombardment. "Daesh (IS) fighters are active in this area and have overrun our houses," said Achin resident Khair Mohammad. "We don't care if our houses are destroyed, we want Daesh to be eliminated." Achin residents who spoke to AFP along the border with Pakistan, near the Torkham Gate crossing, appeared to shrug off early reports of the blast, however. "I heard that there was some sort of bombing last night but it's nothing new, we are used to it," welder Arshad Ali told AFP. "I talked to my family members over the phone last night and they said there had been shelling," said labourer Safdar Shinwari. "Shelling and drone strikes are routine in that area and it's nothing unusual," he added. Islamic State More than 20 hours after the blast, IS issued a statement denying it had suffered any casualties whatsoever. "Security source to Amaq agency denies any dead or wounded from yesterday's American strike in Nangarhar using a GBU-43/B," the group's self-styled news agency said on social media accounts. IS rarely admits its losses after such attacks. For its part, the Taliban quickly condemned what it called "America's heavy use of weapons in Afghanistan". (AFP)

The Rashomon effect of US' huge bomb attack on Afghanistan