![An ambulance carries victims from the site of a suicide attack in Kabul on March 27. [Wakil Kohsar/AFP]](/cnmi_st/images/2023/03/27/41363-33c626w-highres-739_416.webp)
KABUL -- A suicide attack on Monday (March 27) near the Foreign Ministry in Kabul killed six civilians and wounded several others, the Interior Ministry said.
The attacker was identified by security forces who shot at him in front of a business centre near the Foreign Ministry in Kabul, Interior Ministry spokesperson Abdul Nafi Takor tweeted.
"With his killing, the explosives carried by the attacker also exploded, which killed six civilians and wounded a number of others," he said.
Italian NGO Emergency, which operates a hospital in the capital, confirmed it had admitted two dead and 12 wounded individuals, including a child.
The "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS) later claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement on Amaq, the propaganda agency of the group's Khorasan branch (ISIS-K).
Monday's blast was the second attack near the Foreign Ministry in Kabul in less than three months, and the first since the Muslim holy month of Ramadan began on Thursday in Afghanistan.
Series of recent attacks
On January 11, a suicide bomber blew himself up near the Foreign Ministry, killing 10 and wounding 53 people, according to the United Nations.
The Afghan authorities, who have often tried to play down attacks challenging their rule, had said that five people were killed in that attack, which was claimed by the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" (ISIS).
The group has increasingly become a major challenge, killing and wounding hundreds of people in several attacks.
At least five Chinese nationals were wounded in December when gunmen stormed a hotel popular with businesspeople in Kabul.
Eighteen casualties, all of them Afghan, were transferred to a nearby hospital, the BBC reported.
The hotel is popular with Chinese business visitors, who have flocked to Afghanistan since August 2021 in pursuit of potentially lucrative business deals.
That raid was claimed by ISIS, as was an attack on Pakistan's embassy in Kabul also in December that Islamabad denounced as an "assassination attempt" against its ambassador.
Two Russian embassy staff members were killed in a suicide bombing outside their mission in September in another attack claimed by ISIS.
The Russian embassy was one of the few to remain open after August 2021, when most nations shut their embassies down and evacuated staff.
The Foreign Ministry in Kabul said an investigation had been launched and that authorities "will not allow the enemies to sabotage relations between both countries with such negative actions".
The attack showed Afghanistan's "weakness" in gathering intelligence, Afghan security analyst Hekmatullah Hekmat said.
"If they can't prevent such attacks in the heart of Kabul, then they can't provide security in the countryside," he told AFP.
Grave concern
The increase in attacks across Afghanistan, mostly claimed by ISIS, has become a grave concern for the public.
Empowered by the power vacuum in Afghanistan, ISIS's Khorasan branch (ISIS-K) has been increasing attacks in several provinces, raising serious concerns about security throughout the country.
By increasing the frequency of its terrorist acts, ISIS is trying to turn Afghanistan into a bloody ideological battlefield, according to some analysts.
"Recent ISIS attacks show that the group has become very active and has expanded its activities to different parts of the country," Mohammad Naim Ghayur, an Italy-based military analyst, told Salaam Times earlier this month.
"Dozens of terrorist groups are active in Afghanistan, and ISIS's relationship with them is improving," he said.
"As these groups unite, not only the security of Afghanistan but the entire world's security will face increasing threats."
"If the current situation continues, we will witness bloody ISIS attacks in several provinces," he predicted.
ISIS-K's activities will likely expand across the country and the terrorist group will seize territory unless an inclusive government that is supported by the people is established in Afghanistan, Ghayur said.
"ISIS is strongly supported by regional countries and intelligence agencies," he said. "Without that intelligence support, ISIS would not be able to carry out such complex and bloody assaults."
"Unfortunately, the actual victims of this bloody game are innocent Afghans," he added.
ISIS is trying to start a war in Afghanistan, said Sayed Ashraf Sadaat, a civil society activist in Herat.
"ISIS has grown significantly in the past year and a half," he told Salaam Times earlier this month. "Its activities in Afghanistan are a serious concern."
I am confident that America can bring security to Afghanistan and the region within a week. For this purpose, Pakistan's military and intelligence systems must be broken and analyzed because these two organizations are the axis of Satanism and terrorism in the region. Still, the United Kingdom does not let America do so. The latest news is that the US Department of Defense has announced the expansion of "Continuous Surveillance" operations to improve operational coverage in Afghanistan. The inspector general of the Pentagon said that this operation was started after the withdrawal of the American forces from Afghanistan using drones. According to this plan, the mission period of American drones in the region should be extended. It is said that this operation aims to eliminate the threats of "terrorist groups," including ISIS-K so that they cannot use Afghanistan as a haven to attack American targets. According to the latest Pentagon report, US Army Chief of Staff General Michael Corella has focused on filling the gaps in his intelligence monitoring in Afghanistan since the beginning of this year. He said that the US Department of Defense cannot monitor the entire flow of potential terrorist threats from Afghanistan. General Michael Korella said at the Senate Armed Forces' meeting in March, "After the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021, the analytical and intelligence resources and monitoring of Al-Qaeda and ISIS-K, the level dropped. While there are still plans to a
Reply7 Comment
In the report, it is said at one place that "no one has yet claimed responsibility of this attack," and at another place, you have mentioned that ISIS has launched the attack. It is strange as the Taliban constantly claim that ISIS is no more in Afghanistan, and even if they are, they cannot resist them, but this is the second time that they have targeted and launched an explosion near the gates of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in about a month. Security analysts say that the Taliban have entered Afghanistan into another bloody war to maintain power. So I say that man, neither you provide security nor feed the people, so why did you take over the government? No matter what kind of republic it was, whether it was corrupt or insecure... but at least most of the people were fed. It was not like how many people live below the hunger level today. And another thing that is very strange to me as a media outlet, Zawia, which had extensive activity during the era of the republic and was said to be supported by the former head of national security, Hamdullah Mohib, said in the news two days before the attack on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that, "following the warning of the United Kingdom's Office of Commonwealth Countries, there are news that an attack can be launched at the markets, mosques and the airport in the next 96 hours. Yesterday, the Taliban attacked a house in the fifth district of Kabul, which, according to them, ISIS was living in and was planning major attacks in th
Reply7 Comment
Afghanistan has been the place of the worst intelligence wars in the world for decades. Our neighbors do not want Afghans to get together among themselves. The neighboring rulers used to say that they were starting proxy wars in Afghanistan, and they did so. It is true that the Arab war in Afghanistan with Iran, the Pakistani war with India, the American war with Russia and China... but the unfortunate part is that foreigners are doing all these things at the hands of Afghans, and they reach their goal. The only way to end the war in Afghanistan is for Afghans to come together and accept each other. If this does not happen, half a century of war has been fought on this land, and more will continue. The good thing is that the Afghans have another excellent opportunity to gather; if this opportunity is lost, the war will end. It will continue for centuries, and only Afghans will be killed like in the past, and the neighbors and especially the region's intelligence agencies will watch it. The other point is that the cessation of war in Afghanistan is not in the neighbors' interest. No matter how destroyed this country is, it is for the benefit of the neighbors because the neighbors use Afghanistan as a market for selling their stuff. They send their products here, sell them and take the money home. There will be no factory, hospital, or life, just nothing. There will only be murders, one visa of neighbors will be sold for hundreds of dollars, and Afghans will be fighting with eac
Reply7 Comment
To have mercy on Afghans, to have mercy on Afghanistan. Please accept the world community's and your nation's demands; open girls' schools and let women work in the offices. You can specify a special dress code for women and girls like in other Islamic countries and instruct them not to do immoral things. If someone did, you can fire them or punish them. However, there is no country where women are deprived of work and education. Another thing is to give a place to minorities in the government. It is not inevitable that you provide space to Atta Mohammad Noor, Mohammad Mohaqiq, Abdullah Abdullah, Rashid Dostum, and other thieves who call themselves leaders of their ethnic groups. People younger than them, people with a good history, who have not committed betrayal, bring them out and give them a place in the government. Don't force people. Don't stop the protests. Let people express their ideas. If not, we will always be killed in the politics of Pakistan, Iran, Russia, and China, and our enemies will not be known, or they will be introducing themselves to us as Muslim brothers. Best regards, Ahmad
ReplyYour opinion is very beautiful. I agree with you. The ruling system should fear God and not leave the girls in the darkness anymore. If it is punishment, it is enough. If it is difference, malice and hatred, it is enough. For the sake of God and His Prophet, open the doors of schools for girls anymore. Allama Jalaluddin Muhammad Balkhi says, if you have two children; one is a boy and the other is a girl, and you cannot raise both of them, if you raise one of them, raise the girl. We don't know what other language to use to deliver our message to you.
Reply7 Comment
This is not something new. During the era of the republic, whenever Afghanistan was winning a game or had any other happiness, on that day or within a day or two after that, there would be a suicide attack or another armed conflict. Our neighbors (Pakistan and Iran) have no mercy on Afghanistan and Afghans. Pakistan directly implemented the Taliban project until 2021 with the help of arms and money that she received from China and Russia, and now it is supporting ISIS. Still, it is unclear from whom it is getting the money to finance this project. In the early years of the republic, around 2003 and 2004, members of the overthrown Taliban government asked the government to grant them asylum. Neither they wanted to fight, nor they wanted a share in power. Still, unfortunately, leaders of the Republic, especially leaders of the former Northern Alliance, who were in deadly competition with the Taliban, did not let the Taliban leaders go to make peace. They escaped, crossed the Durand Line, and were recruited by Pakistan's intelligence agencies. They gave them houses, cars, and fixed salaries and started attracting young people under their leadership. They appointed thousands and tens of thousands of people and prepared them for war against the government of Afghanistan and the international coalition. Of course, on the other hand, the bombings and night operations on Pashtun-populated villages and houses by the government and the international alliance resulted in innocent people
Reply7 Comment
I read this news, I was very shocked that there has been an explosion in Kabul city, and six of our compatriots have got martyred. The people of Afghanistan always get martyred innocently. In this holy month of Ramadan, the people of Afghanistan were sunken in blood. The people of Afghanistan should support the current government of Afghanistan against the extremist group of ISIS and cooperate with the current government to destroy the extremist group of ISIS throughout Afghanistan. In this month of Ramadan, people worship God, and this radical ISIS group destroys the innocent people.
Reply7 Comment