Kabul
Gunmen attacked a ceremony in Kabul on Friday killing at least 32 people and wounding 58 others where a top Afghan political leader, Abdullah Abdullah, was present but escaped unharmed.
According to Afghan officials, this was the first big attack on the capital since a troop withdrawal agreement was signed last week in Doha between the United States and the Afghan Taliban.
Heath Ministry spokesman Wahidullah Mayar said the victims were taken to local hospitals. Afghan security forces were still trying to flush the gunmen out of a half-finished apartment building, interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said. The attack, claimed by the Islamic State group, highlights a glaring lack of security in the Afghan capital just 14 months ahead of the scheduled withdrawal of all foreign forces.
In a statement, IS said two brothers had targeted a “gathering of apostates” with machine guns and grenades. “The attack started with a boom, apparently a rocket landed in the area, Abdullah and some other politicians […] escaped the attack unhurt,” Abdullah’s spokesman, Fraidoon Kwazoon, who was also present, told Reuters by telephone.
The gathering marked the anniversary of the death of Abdul Ali Mazari, an ethnic Hazara leader who was killed in 1995 after being taken prisoner by the Taliban. Abdullah, runner-up in the last three Afghan presidential elections, each of which he disputed, has served as chief executive of a coalition government since 2014 and is also a former foreign minister.
Broadcaster Tolo News showed live footage of people running for cover as gunfire was heard.
President Ashraf Ghani tweeted that the attack was “a crime against humanity and against the national unity of Afghanistan”.
He added he had telephoned Abdullah, his longtime political rival. Abdullah is contesting an Electoral Commission announcement last month that declared Ghani the winner of September’s presidential election.
Meanwhile, Pakistan on Friday strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Kabul, which resulted in loss of several precious lives and injuries to many others. According to the statement issued by the Foreign Office, “Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have suffered in this tragedy.” “We are relieved that the leadership has remained unharmed.”
“Pakistan has consistently supported a negotiated political solution of the Afghan conflict,” the statement said and added this is a historic juncture. Pakistan also urged all the parties to work together in a constructive spirit for establishing durable peace and stability in Afghanistan.
Nizamuddin Jalil, a health ministry official, gave a slightly higher toll, saying 29 people had been killed and 30 others wounded. The Taliban immediately denied responsibility for the assault, which occurred at the commemoration ceremony for Abdul Ali Mazari — a politician from the Hazara ethnic group, most of whom are Shiite. President Ashraf Ghani condemned the massacre, calling it a “crime against humanity”.— Agencies
