A drastic incident took place early Monday when a bomb blast shook the Afghan capital. The blast wounded at least 65 people, which also comprises of nine children who got hurt by the flying glass, officials said.
The Taliban insurgency claimed the full responsibility of the attack for plotting the suicide raid in contradiction of what it said was the logistics and engineering center of the Afghan Defense Ministry.
The blast has first occurred in the streets of the capital which at that time were fully crowed with morning travelers. After the explosion, the sirens of the ambulance screamed all over the downtown area. Witnesses also heard gunfire as well as small explosions as the attack seemed to be continuing.
After the attack, Ambulances rushed to the scene as soon as possible and carried at least 65 injured people to the nearby hospitals, that also comprises of at least nine children, the Afghan health ministry spokesman said shortly after the blast.
Mohammad Karim, a police official in the area where the attack was held, said that a car bomb blasted outside a Defense Ministry building. After that blast, the militants then rush into a neighboring high-rise situated in a jam-packed market and started firing down on the ministry.
Kabul’s chief police spokesman, Firdous Faramaz, has also confirmed the incident of an explosion but at the same time did not provide any of the details on the target as well as about the type of explosive device.
At least 65 people were injured, Health Ministry official Wahid Mayer said. He also added by saying that it is difficult to reach the area for the reason that of the on-going cross firing between police and militants.
Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah condemned the Taliban attack, and said it “showcases the group’s inherent criminal nature” he then promised that the violence is not going to not put off security forces from chasing and punishing the “miscreants.”
On the other hand, Pakistan also condemned Monday’s attack by saying that “such attacks are detrimental to the cause of peace, security, and stability in Afghanistan.” Pakistan and Afghanistan consistently exchange allegations of sheltering the other’s militant enemies.
A senior Afghan journalist, Bilal Sarwary also tweeted about the attack by stating the massive blast killed at least 40 people and injured 80 others, citing Afghan intelligence, police as well as government officials.
The authorities in Kabul, on the other hand, have not instantly offered any details or information about whether the blast caused fatalities or not.
The violence happened together with increased Taliban battlefield attacks all over Afghanistan that officials said that in the past two days, it has killed approximately 100 Afghan security forces.
Monday’s attack approaches as the Taliban as well as the United States are involved in a fresh round of talks intended at finding a political settlement to the war in Afghanistan.
The most recent talks among the United States and the Taliban, for now, stretched into the third day. The Taliban said their aim is on receiving a statement or declaration of a schedule for the extraction of U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan. The declaration is probable to be escorted by a Taliban promise to hold intra-Afghan talks as well as agree to an ultimate cease-fire.
