KABUL – The death toll from a suicide attack near Kabul internationalairport has risen to 23, the health ministry said Monday, with an AFPdriver among the dead.
At least 107 others were wounded in Sunday’s powerful explosion, whichhappened as scores of people were leaving the airport after welcoming homeAfghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum from exile.
The health ministry warned the latest toll, which initially had been 14dead and 60 wounded, could change.
AFP driver Mohammad Akhtar, 31, was among those killed when the suicidebomber blew himself up.
The father of four had been on his way to work the night shift. The attackwas claimed by the Islamic State group through its official Amaq newsagency, according to the SITE intelligence monitoring group.
Senior Afghan government officials, political leaders and supporters hadgone to the airport to greet Dostum, a powerful ethnic Uzbek leader andformer warlord.
Despite being linked to a catalogue of human rights abuses in Afghanistan,Dostum was mobbed like a celebrity as he arrived in Afghanistan after morethan a year in exile.
He was travelling in an armoured vehicle and narrowly escaped the attack.
Dostum fled to Turkey in May 2017 after being accused of organising therape and torture of a political rival.
He had denied the allegations and said his departure was for medicalcheck-ups and family reasons.
Seven of Dostum’s bodyguards have been convicted of the sexual assault andillegal imprisonment of Ahmad Ishchi, a former governor of the northernprovince of Jowzjan, in 2016. – APP/AFP