A wave of attacks in the Afghan capital Kabul that began overnight continued throughout Friday, killing dozens of people and injuring hundreds more.<br /><br /> They are the first in the capital since the Taliban announced it had a new leader, and began when a truck bomb blew up in a residential area, killing at least 15 people and wounding over 200, including many women and children. The blast left a ten-metre-deep hole in the Shah Shadid district.<br /><br /> A suicide bomber blew himself up in a queue outside a police academy, killing or injuring at least 50 people, and explosions were also heard near the airport, close to a US special forces base and an anti-narcotics unit. Small arms fire was heard in the vicinity afterwards.<br /><br /> The Taliban claimed responsibility for the police academy bombing.<br /><br /> The truck bomb was unusually powerful and devastated surrounding buildings. Many of the dead or injured had been in their homes when the blast flattened houses and shops.
