Horrific Bomb Attacked Hazara Protesters on Kabul
Horrific Bomb Attacked Hazara Protesters on Kabul
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KABUL - At least 64 people have been killed and 265 others injured in a twin suicide attack on a demonstration in Kabul.
Graphic television footage from the site of the blasts showed many dead bodies lying on the bloodied road, close to where thousands of Hazara had been demonstrating over the route of a planned multimillion-dollar power line.
Mohammad Ismail Kawousi, a spokesman for the ministry of public health, said that the dead and injured had been taken to nearby hospitals — and added the toll could rise further.
The injured overwhelmed city hospitals, officials said, with reports emerging of blood shortages and urgent appeals for donors circulating on social media.
Islamic State militants have since claimed responsibility for the attack, while the Taliban strongly denied any involvement.
"Two fighters from Islamic State detonated explosive belts at a gathering of Shiites in the city of Kabul in Afghanistan," the militant group's Amaq news agency reported.
![Horrific Bomb Attacked Hazara Protesters on Kabul]()
The attack appears to be the single deadliest attack in Kabul to be claimed by ISIS jihadists, who are making steady inroads in the country and challenging the Taliban on their own turf.
Much of the city centre had been sealed off with stacks of shipping containers and other obstacles as the march began earlier on Saturday (local time), and security was tight with helicopters patrolling overhead.
Afghan President, Ashraf Ghani has declared Sunday a day of national mourning, after at least 80 people were killed and another 231 wounded in a suicide bomb attack on a peaceful demonstration in the capital, Kabul.
"Opportunist terrorists went among the protestors and set off explosions that killed and wounded a number of our countrymen including security and defence personnel," President Ashraf Ghani said in a statement.
In a live television address Saturday, Ghani says: "I promise you I will take revenge against the culprits. I have ordered the attorney general to set up a commission to investigate this incident."
Saturday's demonstrators had been demanding the 500 kV transmission line from Turkmenistan to Kabul be rerouted through two provinces with large Hazara populations, an option the Government says would cost millions and delay the badly needed project by years.
![Horrific Bomb Attacked Hazara Protesters on Kabul]()
"The horrific attack on a group of peaceful protestors in Kabul demonstrates the utter disregard that armed groups have for human life," Amnesty International said in a statement.
"Such attacks are a reminder that the conflict in Afghanistan is not winding down, as some believe, but escalating, with consequences for the human rights situation in the country that should alarm us all."
The attack comes nearly three weeks after a suicide bomber killed dozens of people in an attack on newly graduated police cadets that was claimed by the Taliban.
Graphic television footage from the site of the blasts showed many dead bodies lying on the bloodied road, close to where thousands of Hazara had been demonstrating over the route of a planned multimillion-dollar power line.
Mohammad Ismail Kawousi, a spokesman for the ministry of public health, said that the dead and injured had been taken to nearby hospitals — and added the toll could rise further.
The injured overwhelmed city hospitals, officials said, with reports emerging of blood shortages and urgent appeals for donors circulating on social media.
Islamic State militants have since claimed responsibility for the attack, while the Taliban strongly denied any involvement.
"Two fighters from Islamic State detonated explosive belts at a gathering of Shiites in the city of Kabul in Afghanistan," the militant group's Amaq news agency reported.
The attack appears to be the single deadliest attack in Kabul to be claimed by ISIS jihadists, who are making steady inroads in the country and challenging the Taliban on their own turf.
Much of the city centre had been sealed off with stacks of shipping containers and other obstacles as the march began earlier on Saturday (local time), and security was tight with helicopters patrolling overhead.
Afghan President, Ashraf Ghani has declared Sunday a day of national mourning, after at least 80 people were killed and another 231 wounded in a suicide bomb attack on a peaceful demonstration in the capital, Kabul.
"Opportunist terrorists went among the protestors and set off explosions that killed and wounded a number of our countrymen including security and defence personnel," President Ashraf Ghani said in a statement.
In a live television address Saturday, Ghani says: "I promise you I will take revenge against the culprits. I have ordered the attorney general to set up a commission to investigate this incident."
Saturday's demonstrators had been demanding the 500 kV transmission line from Turkmenistan to Kabul be rerouted through two provinces with large Hazara populations, an option the Government says would cost millions and delay the badly needed project by years.
"The horrific attack on a group of peaceful protestors in Kabul demonstrates the utter disregard that armed groups have for human life," Amnesty International said in a statement.
"Such attacks are a reminder that the conflict in Afghanistan is not winding down, as some believe, but escalating, with consequences for the human rights situation in the country that should alarm us all."
The attack comes nearly three weeks after a suicide bomber killed dozens of people in an attack on newly graduated police cadets that was claimed by the Taliban.
(rnz)
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