IN PICTURES | 11 Afghan troops killed in deadly Islamic State attack on Kabul military base

Gunmen and suicide bombers launched a pre-dawn attack claimed by the Islamic State group on a military compound in Kabul today, killing 11 soldiers in the third major assault in the Afghan capital in recent days. The series of assaults have left already war-weary citizens grief-stricken and angry as the Taliban and IS escalate their offensive.

Gunmen and suicide bombers launched a pre-dawn attack claimed by the Islamic State group on a military compound in Kabul today, killing 11 soldiers in the third major assault in the Afghan capital in recent days. The series of assaults have left already w 

Monday's attack started around 4 a.m., witnesses said. A suicide bomber first struck the military unit responsible for providing security for the academy, followed by a gunbattle with the troops, said Dawlat Waziri, spokesman for the Afghan defense ministry. | (AP Photo of security personnel at the site of Monday's attack)

At least five insurgents were involved in the morning assault, according to Waziri. Two of the attackers were killed in the gunbattle, two detonated their suicide vests and one was arrested by the troops, he said. All roads leading to the military academy were blocked by police, which only allowed ambulances access to the site to transfer the wounded to hospitals. | (AP Photo of a suspect being detained after Monday's attack)

The spokesperson, insisted, however that 'the attack was against an army unit providing security for the academy (seen in picture) and not the academy itself.' The same academy was also attacked in October last year by a suicide bomber who killed 15 officers. The attacker was on foot and detonated his suicide vest as the on-duty officers were leaving the facility, heading home in the evening. That attack was claimed by the Taliban. | (AP Photo of Marshal Fahim Academy after the attack)

Security warnings sent to foreigners in recent days said IS militants were planning to attack supermarkets, hotels and shops frequented by foreigners. Several foreign organisations, including humanitarian groups, are reassessing their operations after a particularly tragic week in the country. | (AP Photo of security personnel at the site of Monday's attack)

Last Saturday a Taliban suicide attacker driving an explosives-packed ambulance blew it up in a crowded area of the capital, killing at least 103 people -- mainly civilians -- and wounding 235 in one of the worst bombings in the city in recent years. The government has blamed Saturday's attack on the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani Network. | (AP Photo from the site of Saturday's ambulance blast)

The Taliban also claimed an attack a week before the ambulance attack, in which militants stormed a hilltop hotel in Kabul, the Intercontinental, killing 22 people, including 14 foreigners, and setting off a 13-hour battle with security forces. | (AP Photo of women at the site of the attack)

The recent brutal attacks have underscored the weaknesses of Afghan security forces, more than 16 years after the U.S.-led invasion toppled the Taliban, and raise questions about President Donald Trump's strategy for winning America's longest war. | (AP Photo of security personnel at the site of Monday's attack)