KABUL – ISIS has claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a Shi‘ite
cultural centre and news agency on Thursday in the Afghan capital that
killed dozens of people attending a conference.
Ismail Kawosi, a spokesman for the ministry of public health, said 41
people had been killed and 48 wounded in the latest in a series of attacks
on media organisations in Kabul.
The attack, which involved at least three explosions, occurred during a
morning panel discussion on the anniversary of the Soviet invasion of
Afghanistan
at the Tabian Social and Cultural
Centre, with many of those attending students, witnesses said.
It was also the latest in a series of attacks on Shi‘ite targets by
Islamic State
, which claimed responsibility
in an online statement.
The floors of the centre, at the basement level, were covered in blood as
wailing survivors and relatives picked through the debris, while windows of
the news agency, on the second floor, were all shattered.
People running outside into the compound following an initial blast inside
were caught by two further explosions which caused heavy casualties,
witnesses said.
Photographs sent by witnesses showed serious damage at the building, in a
heavily Shi‘ite area in the west of the capital, and a number of dead and
wounded on the ground.
Deputy Health Minister Feda Mohammad Paikan said 35 bodies had been brought
into the nearby Istiqlal hospital. Television pictures showed many of the
injured suffered serious burns.
It was also the latest in a series of attacks on Shi‘ite targets by
Islamic State
, which claimed responsibility
in an online statement.
The floors of the centre, at the basement level, were covered in blood as
wailing survivors and relatives picked through the debris, while windows of
the news agency, on the second floor, were all shattered.
People running outside into the compound following an initial blast inside
were caught by two further explosions which caused heavy casualties,
witnesses said.
Photographs sent by witnesses showed serious damage at the building, in a
heavily Shi‘ite area in the west of the capital, and a number of dead and
wounded on the ground.
Deputy Health Minister Feda Mohammad Paikan said 35 bodies had been brought
into the nearby Istiqlal hospital. Television pictures showed many of the
injured suffered serious burns.
President Ashraf Ghani’s spokesman issued a statement calling the attack an
“unpardonable” crime against humanity and pledging to destroy terrorist
groups.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid issued a statement on Twitter denying
involvement.
The bloodshed follows an attack on a private television station in Kabul
last month, which was also claimed by
Islamic State
.
Backed by the heaviest US air strikes since the height of the international
combat mission in
Afghanistan
, Afghan forces have forced the
Taliban back in many areas and prevented any major urban centre from
falling into the hands of insurgents.
But high-profile attacks in the big cities have continued as militants have
looked for other ways to make an impact and undermine confidence in
security.
Islamic State
, which is opposed to both the
Taliban and the Western-backed government, has claimed a growing share of
such attacks.
“This gruesome attack underscores the dangers faced by Afghan civilians,”
rights group Amnesty International said in a statement from its South Asia
Director, Biraj Patnaik. “In one of the deadliest years on record,
journalists and other civilians continue to be ruthlessly targeted by armed
groups.”
According to a report this month by media freedom group Reporters without
Borders,
Afghanistan
is among the world’s most dangerous
countries for media workers with two journalists and five media assistants
killed doing their jobs in 2017, before Thursday’s attack.
According to Sayed Abbas Hussaini, a journalist at Afghan Voice, one
reporter at the agency was killed in Thursday’s attack and two were wounded.