Kabul attack: Huge blast rocks diplomatic district

[MultaniGuy]

Huge blast rips through the heart of Afghan capital, in an area close to many government offices and foreign embassies.

A suicide car bomb attack in the heart of Kabul's diplomatic district has killed at least 19 people and wounded hundreds, according to officials, in a powerful blast described as "one of the biggest" to have hit the Afghan capital.

Sources said the explosion on Wednesday took place near Zanbaq square, in Kabul's 10th district, a highly secure area close to many government offices and foreign embassies.

Afghanistan's health ministry confirmed to Al Jazeera that at least 19 people were killed and 390 wounded in the attack.

The death toll was expected to rise. Local media reported that at least 50 people were killed in the attack, citing anonymous sources.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Both the Taliban and ISIL have previously staged large-scale attacks in Kabul

https://twitter.com/x/status/869774317076262912

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/05/huge-blast-rocks-kabul-diplomatic-area-170531040318591.html

Horrible.

Hopefully the culprits are brought to justice.

 

[terry5]

 

[peacefulguy]

Hope pakistan has a end game in mind wrt afghanistan , because even though now the taliban seem to be having a good run , their is no chance that usa is going to allow a fundamental islamic outfit like the talibs to take control in kabul.
Now is as good a time as any to negotiate a peace deal.
But some parties might be earning well from keeping the bloodshed going and a peaceful afghanistan might be if no interest to them.

 

[LeGenD]

Horrible development.

I worry about the fate of Afghanistan in the light of ongoing developments like these.

Afghanistan is slowly but surely sliding back to war-like conditions.

Pakistan and US need to come back to negotiation table and think about the future of Afghanistan.

 

[Cthulhu]

Target was Iranian embassy.
@Serpentine

They attacked a diplomatic area to symbolically show that our target is not just only Afghanistan, but all of the countries who dare to stand against us.

 

[Banglar Bir]

A horrific attack in Kabul shows the Afghan government’s weakness
Germany agonises about repatriating refugees and America about sending more troops

June 2nd 2017| KABUL
EVEN for a city familiar with explosions, the power of the bomb that ripped through Kabul on May 31st was shocking. The device, hidden in a tanker truck, went off during rush hour in a crowded area near several foreign embassies. The blast shattered windows a mile away and sent clouds of black smoke swirling above the city. At least 90 people were killed and more than 460 wounded, making it one of the deadliest attacks in the capital in the 16-year civil war.

Jan Ali Ghobar, who works for Roshan, a telecommunications company based nearby, was knocked unconscious: “When I came back, everything was dark, the ceiling had fallen down, our desk chairs, everything was crushed.” The German embassy was badly damaged; one of its Afghan guards was killed.

As The Economist went to press, no one had claimed responsibility for the blast. A spokesman for the Taliban denied that they were behind it. Islamic State militants have staged several attacks in Afghanistan in recent months, though none as large as this. Whoever was behind it, the attack highlights the Afghan government’s inability to provide security, even in the capital. According to the UN, Kabul has become the deadliest province in the country for civilians, ahead of some of the country’s more notorious trouble spots, such as Helmand and Kandahar.

One effect of the explosion has been to heighten the debate in Germany over whether it is reasonable to repatriate Afghans whose applications for asylum are unsuccessful. Just after the blast, the German authorities postponed a flight carrying failed asylum-seekers to Kabul. German officials’ insistence that parts of Afghanistan are safe for deportees sounds ever less plausible.

The bombing will also intensify the row within the administration of Donald Trump over whether to increase America’s military presence in Afghanistan. Mr Trump’s national-security team has endorsed a plan to deploy up to 5,000 extra troops. Others in the White House remain opposed to further entangling America in a war on which it already spends $3bn a month. Mr Trump has not yet made up his mind. The bombing certainly strengthens the case that the Afghan government is losing control and needs more military assistance. But it also makes Afghanistan look even more like a quagmire.

This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline "In tatters"
http://www.economist.com/news/asia/.../n/n/Daily_Dispatch/email&etear=dailydispatch

 

[Sam.]

They attacked a diplomatic area to symbolically show that our target is not just only Afghanistan, but all of the countries who dare to stand against us.

Iran’s president expresses solidarity with Afghanistan over Kabul bombing
Thu Jun 1, 2017 9:8PM

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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (file photo)


Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has expressed Iran’s solidarity with Afghanistan in the ongoing campaign against terrorism and extremism following a recent deadly attack in Kabul.

“In this great tragedy, the Islamic Republic of Iran will stand beside the brotherly Afghan government and nation and keep up... its decisive battle to completely eradicate terror and extremism,” Rouhani wrote in a Thursday message to his Afghan counterpart Ashraf Ghani.

Read more:

• Press TV cameraman missing after Kabul bombing

Rouhani expressed condolences to the Afghan government and nation and wished patience for the families of the victims of the Wednesday bombing.

“Carrying out criminal terrorist attacks in the holy month of Ramadan, which is the month of mercy and worship, is indicative of the fact that the perpetrators, directors and supporters of such blind actions have in no way benefited from the perspicuous religion of Islam and its humane teachings,” Rouhani added.

Afghan security forces arrive at the site of a massive car bomb attack in Kabul on May 31, 2017. (Photo by AFP)
On Wednesday morning, a massive bomb blast near the presidential palace and foreign embassies in the center of Kabul claimed the lives of at least 90 people and injured hundreds of others.

The Daesh Takfiri terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack, the precise target of which remained unclear, even though it hit Zanbaq Square, close to the German embassy.

According to reports, several embassies were damaged in the large explosion.

The Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran was also damaged in the explosion which also partially destroyed the Iranian ambassador’s residence.

An image showing a hall inside the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran after a massive explosion nearby, May 31, 2017
Moreover, Press TV's cameraman in Kabul Habibollah Hosseinzadeh has gone missing since he left his home on Wednesday for the Press TV office located near the blast site.

The bomb blast on the highly-secured area is said to be “one of the biggest” in the city, which has already been the target of many terrorist attacks in the first three months of 2017

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2017/06/01/523913/Iran-Afghanistan-Kabul-blast-Rouhani-Ghani

They clearly showed who they will target in Afghanistan.

 

[Hindustani78]

Prime Minister's Office
24-July, 2017 16:18 IST
PM strongly condemns the terrorist attack in Kabul


The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Kabul. The Prime Minister also expressed solidarity with the people and government of Afghanistan in their fight against terrorism.

“Strongly condemn the terrorist attack in Kabul. My heart goes out to the victim's families.

We stand in solidarity with people and government of Afghanistan in their fight against terrorism.” the Prime Minister said.

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