More than 40 people were killed and dozens wounded in a suicide blast targeting Shiites in Kabul. According to report, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the gruesome assault on the pro-Iranian Tabayan cultural centre, the third deadly attack it has claimed in the Afghan capital this month. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid denied the group’s involvement in the attack. Up to 100 people had gathered at the centre to mark the 38th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. It is located in western Kabul, in the same building as affiliated Afghan Voice Agency, an anti-IS media outlet.
Kabul has become one of the deadliest places in war-torn Afghanistan for civilians in recent months, as the Taliban step up their attacks and IS seeks to expand its presence in the country. Thursday’s attack saw chaotic scenes at the Istiqlal hospital where ambulances and police pickups brought victims, including women and children. Many of them had suffered severe burns to their faces and bodies, as well as shrapnel wounds. Visibly distressed relatives searching for their loved ones inside the medical facility slapped their heads in fury as they cried and cursed the government for seemingly being unable to end the regular carnage on their streets.
Some were so distraught they crawled on the ground pulling their hair. Deputy interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi told media the attack was followed by two smaller bomb blasts as victims and survivors were leaving the scene.
Thursday’s assault comes days after a suicide bomber killed six civilians in a Christmas Day attack near an Afghan intelligence agency compound in the city, which was also claimed by IS.
On December 18 militants from the group stormed an intelligence training compound in Kabul, triggering an intense gunfight with police, two of whom were wounded.
The attack drew international condemnation, with NATO’s Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan describing it as heinous. Amnesty International said it was further evidence that Kabul was not safe. Germany, which has expelled dozens of Afghans in recent months, said “we cry” with the victims of the attack, according to a statement from Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel. Security in Kabul has been ramped up since May 31 when a massive truck bomb ripped through the diplomatic quarter, killing some 150 people and wounding around 400 others – mostly civilians. The Afghan media has also previously been targeted by militants, underlining the risks faced by journalists in the war-torn country. It is unfortunate that after a long US led military operation in Afghanistan the purpose of peace and stability could not be achieved so far. IS is strengthening its foothold in Afghanistan and it had targeted Kabul 16 times in the year 2017. The crimes and drug smuggling is also rapidly increasing and it is looking that the situation in Afghanistan is not in the control of any authority. United States should admit its failure and take tangible steps with cooperation of regional countries to resolve the issue so that people of Afghanistan get peace and stability.
