20 killed in blast near Afghanistan foreign ministry in Kabul

Asia-Pacific, News January 12, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

At least 20 people have been killed and more than 40 injured in a suicide bomb attack outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul, Afghanistan on January 11, 2023.

A Taliban Information Ministry official Ustad Fareedun told Reuters that a suicide bomber attempted to enter the foreign ministry but failed and detonated himself outside the ministry building in Kabul.

Kabul Police Command spokesman Khalid Zadran said that a bomb blast occurred on a road near the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the afternoon (about 4 P.M. local time). Zadran added that the Taliban security forces have reached the area.

Pictures circulating on social media websites showed several injured civilians lying outside the building and shouting for help, while some people are running toward the scene to offer assistance.

Taliban Deputy Minister of Information and Culture Muhajer Farahi told AFP that “There was supposed to be a Chinese delegation at the foreign ministry today, but we don’t know if they were present at the time of the blast.” However, a senior official at the prime minister’s office, Ahmadullah Muttaqi said that no foreigners were present at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the time of the suicide attack.

Although no group immediately claimed responsibility for the recent attack, Islamic State (ISIS) terrorist group has conducted several attacks in the country.

A number of attacks have taken place in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control in 2021, and Islamic State has claimed the responsibility for most of such attacks. Last month, ISIS militants attacked a popular Chinese hotel and wounded several Chinese nationals. The group also took responsibility for an attack on the Pakistani Embassy in Kabul and attempted to assassinate the ambassador.

*^{Taliban security forces block a road after a suspected suicide blast near Afghanistan’s foreign ministry at the Zanbaq Square in Kabul on January 11, 2023. (Image Credit: Wakil Kohsar/AFP)}*

In response to the growing number of attacks, the Afghan Taliban claimed to have killed eight members of the Islamic State (ISIS) militant group and arrested nine others in a series of raids in the country last week.

According to Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid, two separate operations were conducted in Kabul and western Nimrouz during which the Taliban forces targeted the ISIS hideouts. Mujahid said that the targeted IS militants had organized recent attacks on the Chinese Longan Hotel, Pakistan’s embassy, and a military airport in Kabul.

The Taliban swept across the country in August 2021, seizing power as U.S. and NATO forces were in the last weeks of their final withdrawal from Afghanistan after 20 years of war. ISIS regional affiliate group, known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province, ISIS has emerged as the largest rival and potent enemy of the Taliban. The group has increased its attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover and its targets have included Taliban patrols and members of Afghanistan’s Shiite minority.