KABUL – Afghan intelligence officials arrested 16 people after an apparent mass suicide bombing attack was foiled in Kabul, Sky News reported Tuesday.
Some 11 suicide bombing vests were also seized from inside Afghanistan's defense ministry, according to security officials, cited by news website Khaama Press.
A number of the suspects were members of the Afghan National Army, the security sources added.
It is believed the suspects planned to detonate the bombing vests on buses transporting more than 1,000 staff from one compound to the next, Sky News said.
The arrests follow the killings of three NATO troops Monday in two separate incidents involving gunmen allegedly affiliated with Afghan security forces, as unrest in the wake of a mass shooting by a US soldier earlier this month continued to be felt through southern and eastern Afghanistan.
Two British troops died in the first attack, while the soldier killed in the second incident was reportedly American.
Those attacks followed the rampage by Staff Sgt. Robert Bales in southern Kandahar province on March 11, which killed 17 people, including nine children.
Gen. John Allen, the top US and ISAF commander in the war-torn country, said Monday's attacks could be retaliation from the Taliban.
"The Taliban has had as an objective for some time ... to infiltrate the ISAF ranks," Allen said.
"Revenge is an important dimension in this culture."
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