Suicide bomber kills 12 outside Afghan SC (Lead)
Tuesday - February 7, 2017 6:42 pm ,
Category : WORLD
KABUL—Suicide bombers on Saturday killed at least 26 people in two attacks, officials said, targeting the Ministry of Defense in the Afghan capital and a market in eastern Kunar province.
The attack in Kabul killed at least 12 people outside the Ministry of Defense when a suicide bomber approached the building on foot and detonated his explosives as staff were going home at the end of the day.
The ministry is in the city center, close to the presidential palace and military headquarters of the U.S. and its allies headquarters. Despite a high concentration of checkpoints and Afghan security forces, the area still have been vulnerable to attack.
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The blast on Saturday was the first major incident in the city after weeks of relative calm. In January, a string of bomb and gun attacks rattled Kabul’s residents, as well as foreign nationals and organizations in the city, underscoring the Afghan government’s shaky grip on national security.
Saturday’s attack in the capital followed a regional peace meeting held in the Afghan capital earlier this week by representatives from Afghanistan, Pakistan, the U.S. and China.
The Afghan government is trying to bring the Taliban to the table for direct talks in March to end the long-running conflict. Some Taliban figures are expected to meet the group of four for talks, but many oppose the process and the continuing attacks speak to divisions within the Islamist militant group.
Meanwhile, at least 14 people were killed and 40 wounded in a blast in the provincial capital of eastern Kunar province on Saturday in a suicide attack that targeted a local tribal chief close to the main bazaar, local officials said. There were no immediate claims of responsibility. IANS
The attack in Kabul killed at least 12 people outside the Ministry of Defense when a suicide bomber approached the building on foot and detonated his explosives as staff were going home at the end of the day.
The ministry is in the city center, close to the presidential palace and military headquarters of the U.S. and its allies headquarters. Despite a high concentration of checkpoints and Afghan security forces, the area still have been vulnerable to attack.
RELATED READING
The blast on Saturday was the first major incident in the city after weeks of relative calm. In January, a string of bomb and gun attacks rattled Kabul’s residents, as well as foreign nationals and organizations in the city, underscoring the Afghan government’s shaky grip on national security.
Saturday’s attack in the capital followed a regional peace meeting held in the Afghan capital earlier this week by representatives from Afghanistan, Pakistan, the U.S. and China.
The Afghan government is trying to bring the Taliban to the table for direct talks in March to end the long-running conflict. Some Taliban figures are expected to meet the group of four for talks, but many oppose the process and the continuing attacks speak to divisions within the Islamist militant group.
Meanwhile, at least 14 people were killed and 40 wounded in a blast in the provincial capital of eastern Kunar province on Saturday in a suicide attack that targeted a local tribal chief close to the main bazaar, local officials said. There were no immediate claims of responsibility. IANS
