KABUL: At least 23 people were killed and more than a dozen wounded inmultiple suicide bombings and attacks in Afghanistan on Saturday, officialssaid, the latest in a series of assaults in the war-torn country.

In the biggest attack, Taliban militants stormed an army base in thewestern province of Farah overnight, killing at least 18 soldiers.

“Last night a big group of militants attacked an army base in Bala Bulukdistrict of Farah. Unfortunately, we lost 18 soldiers, two soldiers werewounded. We have sent more reinforcements to the area,” defence ministryspokesman Daulat Wazir said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. Deputy provincialgovernor Younus Rasooli said the authorities had sent a fact-findingdelegation to Bala Buluk to investigate the assault.

In another attack, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives near thediplomatic area of Kabul during the morning rush hour, killing at leastthree people and wounding five others, deputy interior ministry spokesmanNasrat Rahimi told AFP.

“At around 8:30 am, a suicide bomber on foot, well-dressed with a necktieon, was identified at a checkpoint. He blew up his explosives, killingthree and wounding five others,” he said, updating an earlier toll.

A security source who requested not to be named said the explosion happenednear a compound belonging to the National Directorate of Security (NDS),the Afghan intelligence agency. The NDS compound is located near the NATOheadquarters and the US embassy.

“I was driving nearby when I heard a big explosion, the windows of my carwere smashed. I saw several wounded people on the street near me,” awitness told Tolonews TV adding that security forces had since swarmed thearea, closing off the main road leading to the attack site.

In December, a suicide attacker on foot blew himself up near the samecompound, killing at least six civilians.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attack inKabul, which in recent months has become one of the deadliest places inAfghanistan for civilians.

Since mid-January, militants have stormed a luxury hotel, bombed a crowdedstreet and raided a military compound in the capital, killing more than 130people as the city remains on high alert fearing further violence.

*- Car bombings -*In two other attacks on Saturday in volatile southern Helmand province,suicide car bombs killed at least two soldiers and wounded more than adozen others, officials said.

In the first incident, militants used a Humvee to attack an army base inNad Ali district but the vehicle was destroyed when soldiers identified itand hit it with a rocket propelled grenade, provincial spokesman Omar Zawaktold AFP.

“Unfortunately, two soldiers were killed in the attack and seven wounded,”he said.

The Nad Ali attack was followed by a second suicide car bombing in theprovincial capital Lashkar Gah that wounded seven people.

The attack was against an NDS compound and near a police headquarters inthe city, Helmand police spokesman Salaam Afghan told AFP.

The Taliban claimed both attacks in Helmand.

Militants including the Taliban and the Islamic State group have stepped uptheir attacks on beleaguered Afghan troops and police in recent months,sapping morale already hit by desertions and corruption.

Afghan soldiers have taken what the UN describes as “shocking” casualtiessince international forces ended their combat role at the end of 2014,though troop casualty figures are no longer released. Agencies