A new explosion in Kabul, the Afghan capital, left an unknown number of dead this Saturday (13). The artifact exploded in a minibus in the Dasht-e-Barchi area, populated by the Hazara Shiite ethnic minority, a constant target of attacks organized by the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group.
The number of victims is still uncertain. Local hospital officials told AFP news agency the death of one person, while four others were said to be injured. As for Reuters, a member of the Taliban fundamentalist group reported that six died and at least seven were injured.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far, and the main Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said an investigation was underway. This Friday (12), another explosion, this time in a mosque in Jalalabad, left three dead.
A local resident, who claims to have arrived in the area just minutes after the explosion, told Reuters that the bomb used was magnetic and that it helped transport the wounded to a nearby hospital. At least three people were dead, he said.
Images and videos shared on social media show the flames and a thick cloud of smoke in the sky. A director of a local hospital reported that at least two people suffered severe burns.
The Dasht-e-Barchi region had been the scene of attacks even before the Taliban fundamentalist group regained power in the country. In May, the site suffered a series of explosions, which reached a school for girls, leaving 85 dead and 300 injured.
A car bomb exploded in front of the educational institution and, when the students left the place, other bombs were activated. The suspicion is that EI-Khorasan, the Afghan branch of the Islamic State, is the author of the attacks, although the group has not claimed authorship.
In the first half of 2020, the NGO Doctors Without Borders (MSF) ended activities in Dasht-e-Barchi after an attack killed 16 mothers, a midwife and two children aged 7 and 8 at the site. At the time, in a statement, the MSF regretted the episode and stated that the work performed there was considered one of the largest maternal and child health projects in the world – 16,000 births were carried out there in 2019.
Since the Taliban regained control of Kabul, bombings that leave dozens dead have multiplied, with the majority being claimed by ISIS. Saturday’s attack is the sixth such incident in 40 days.
EI-Khorasan also claimed responsibility for an attack at Kabul airport on Aug. 26 that killed more than 170 Afghans and 13 US military personnel. The attack took place amid the withdrawal of Western troops from the country, when civilians gathered around the terminal trying to also leave Afghanistan.
Since it was created in mid-2014, the Afghan wing of the terrorist group has presented a series of public differences with the Taliban, which have already resulted in armed conflicts and territorial disputes, particularly on the border with Pakistan. The group threatens to destabilize the government that the Islamic fundamentalist faction is trying to consolidate in Afghanistan to gain international support.
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