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At least 80 killed and more than 350 wounded in huge Kabul explosion – UPDATE

A powerful bomb hidden in a sewage truck exploded in the morning rush hour in the centre of the Afghan capital on Wednesday, police said, killing at least 80 people, wounding hundreds and damaging embassy buildings, according to Reuters.

UPDATE: Germany does not yet know whether its embassy in Afghanistan was the target of an attack near the building in Kabul which killed at least 80 people on Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry said on Wednesday.

“We cannot say yet exactly what the attack was directed against, the explosion was in the diplomatic quarter,” the spokeswoman told reporters, adding two German embassy employees had been injured and an Afghan security guard killed.

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“We don’t yet have a complete picture … we have no claim of responsibility, we cannot say for sure how this attack happened and against whom it was directed,” she added.

UPDATE: The victims appeared mainly to have been Afghan civilians.

The bomb, one of the deadliest in Kabul and coming at the start of the holy month of Ramadan, exploded close to the fortified entrance to the German embassy, wounding some staff, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said. He said that one Afghan security guard was killed and others were likely among the dead.

“Such attacks do not change our resolve in continuing to support the Afghan government in the stabilization of the country,” he said.

Basir Mujahid, a spokesman for city police, said the explosives were hidden in a sewage truck. He suggested that the German embassy might not have been the target of the blast, which sent clouds of black smoke into the sky near the presidential palace.

“There are several other important compounds and offices near there too,” he told Reuters.

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The blast, which shattered windows and blew doors off their hinges in houses hundreds of metres away, was unusually strong.

The Taliban, seeking to reimpose Islamic rule after their 2001 ouster by U.S.-led forces, denied responsibility and said they condemned attacks that have no legitimate target and killed civilians.

Islamic State, the other main militant group active in Afghanistan, has claimed responsibility for previous high profile attacks in Kabul, including an attack on a military hospital in March that killed more than 50 people.

The NATO-led Resolute Support (RS) mission in Kabul said Afghan security forces prevented the vehicle carrying the bomb from entering the heavily protected Green Zone that houses many foreign embassies as well as its headquarters, also suggesting it may not have reached its intended target.

A public health official said at least 80 people had been killed and more than 350 wounded.

Germany will cease flights deporting rejected asylum seekers to Afghanistan in the next few days, a German official confirmed. Germany began carrying out group deportations of Afghans in December, seeking to show it is tackling an influx of migrants by getting rid of those who do not qualify as refugees.

The French, Turkish and Chinese embassies were among those damaged, the three countries said, adding there were no immediate signs of injuries among their diplomats. The BBC said one of its drivers, an Afghan, was killed driving journalists to work. Four journalists were wounded and treated in hospital.

Switzerland said the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation had several windows broken but the staff were safe.

Video shot at the scene showed burning debris, crumbled walls and buildings, and destroyed cars, many with dead or injured people inside.

“Felt like an earthquake”

At the Wazir Akbar Khan hospital a few blocks away, there were scenes of chaos as ambulances brought in wounded. Frantic relatives scanned casualty lists and questioned hospital staff for news.

“It felt like an earthquake,” said 21-year-old Mohammad Hassan, describing the moment the blast struck the bank where he was working. His head wound had been bandaged but blood still soaked his white dress shirt.

Another lightly wounded victim, Nabib Ahmad, 27, said there was widespread destruction and confusion.

“I couldn’t think clearly, there was a mess everywhere,” he said.

Frenzy erupted out outside the hospital as ambulances and police trucks began bringing in the bodies of those killed. Some bodies were burned or destroyed beyond recognition.

India and Pakistan condemned the blast.

“India stands with Afghanistan in fighting all types of terrorism. Forces supporting terrorism need to be defeated,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet. India said its embassy staff were safe.

Wednesday’s attack provided another clear demonstration that Ramadan, which began at the weekend, would provide little respite from the violence across Afghanistan.

Amnesty International demanded an immediate and impartial investigation.

“Today’s tragedy shows that the conflict in Afghanistan is not winding down but dangerously widening, in a way that should alarm the international community,” it said in a statement.

The explosion will add pressure to the fragile government of President Ashraf Ghani, which has faced mounting discontent over its inability to control the insurgency and provide security for Afghan citizens.

The Taliban have been stepping up their push to defeat the U.S.-backed government. Since most international troops withdrew at the end of 2014, the Taliban have gained ground and now control or contest about 40 percent of the country, according to U.S. estimates, though Ghani’s government holds all provincial centres.

U.S. President Donald Trump is due to decide soon on a recommendation to send 3,000 to 5,000 more troops to bolster the small NATO training force and U.S. counter-terrorism mission now totalling just over 10,000.

The commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, told a congressional hearing this year that he needed several thousand more troops to help Afghan forces break a “stalemate” with the Taliban.

UPDATE: The German government has cancelled a flight planned for Wednesday to deport rejected asylum seekers to Afghanistan after an explosion killed at least 80 people in the Afghan capital Kabul, broadcaster ARD cited the interior minister as saying.

UPDATE: Turkey’s foreign ministry said on Wednesday its embassy building in the Afghan capital Kabul was damaged in an explosion that killed at least 80 people, adding that its staff at the mission were unharmed.

The bomb, one of the deadliest in Kabul and coming at the start of the holy month of Ramadan, has also wounded hundreds of people.

UPDATE: Employees at the German embassy in Kabul were injured in a powerful bomb explosion in the Afghan capital on Wednesday and one Afghan security guard was killed, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Twitter.

“The attack took place very close to the German embassy. It hit civilians and those who are in Afghanistan to work for a better future for the country with the people there. It’s especially contemptible that these people were the target,” Gabriel said.

“Such attacks do not change our resolve in continuing to support the Afghan government in the stabilization of the country,” the official added.

UPDATE: The Afghan Taliban denied responsibility for a vehicle bomb attack in Kabul on Wednesday that killed at least 80 people and wounded more than 350.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement the movement’s fighters had no involvement and said the movement condemned any such untargeted attacks that caused civilian casualties.

UPDATE: The U.S. Embassy in Kabul is canceling all appointments for routine American Citizen Services on the afternoon of May 31, 2017. U.S. citizens needing emergency assistance can call the American Citizen Services section at 070-011-4000 or send an email to [email protected].

The U.S Embassy reminds all U.S. citizens that serious threats to safety and security exist in the city of Kabul and throughout Afghanistan. Militant groups usually plan attacks against locations and individuals with potential American connections, including: Afghan and U.S. government facilities, foreign embassies, military installations, commercial entities, non-governmental organization offices, restaurants, hotels, airports, and educational centers. The threat of kidnapping is high. The potential also exists for protests to occur in Afghan cities at short notice.

Travel to all areas of Afghanistan remains unsafe due to the ongoing risk of kidnapping, hostage taking, military combat operations, landmines, banditry, armed rivalry between political and tribal groups, militant attacks, direct and indirect fire, suicide bombings, and insurgent attacks, including attacks using vehicle-borne or other improvised explosive devices.

In accordance with the Travel Warning for Afghanistan, the Department of State continues to warn U.S. citizens against travel to Afghanistan. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul urges all U.S. citizens in Afghanistan to review your personal security plans, take appropriate steps to enhance your personal safety, remain aware of your surroundings, monitor local news for updates, and maintain a high level of vigilance

UPDATE: At least 80 people were killed and more than 350 wounded in the attack, according to Reuters.

“Strongly condemn the blast in and express my condolence to the bereaved families. Terrorists are enemies of Humanity.” said Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, Chairman of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT), Founder of Minhaj-ul-Quran International, on Twitter.

UPDATE:  A powerful vehicle bomb has struck the diplomatic area of the Afghan capital, Kabul, killing at least 49 people and injuring 320, according to BBC.

UPDATE: The French embassy in Kabul was damaged in Wednesday’s car bomb attack in the Afghanistan capital, said French minister Marielle de Sarnez, who added there were no signs at this stage of any French victims.

“There has been some material damage in the French embassy, as well as in the Germany embassy,” de Sarnez, who is France’s European affairs minister, told Europe 1 radio

UPDATE: Germany says that it is unclear whether German staff at the embassy have been killed or injured.

“It’s unclear at the moment whether German staff have been affected,” the source told Reuters.

The source had earlier said, based on information available at the time, it did not seem that German staff had been injured or killed in the explosion.

UPDATE: Death toll rises in Kabul explosion. Health official says that 15 were killed and 300 were wounded.

UPDATE: Health Minister reports that nine people died while 90 were injured but the toll could rise in coming hours.

Local media, cited by international news outlets, says that at some 100 people were wounded in the attack.

A powerful car bomb exploded in the centre of Afghanistan’s capital on Wednesday, sending clouds of black smoke spiralling over the centre of the city in an area near the presidential palace and foreign embassies, police said.

A health official said that at least 67 people were injured in the attack.

Several people were killed and wounded in the blast near the fortified entrance to the German embassy, said Basir Mujahid a spokesman for Kabul police.

“It was a car bomb near the German embassy, but there are several other important compounds and offices near there too. It is hard to say what the exact target is,” Mujahid said.

The explosion shattered windows and blew doors off their hinges in houses hundreds of metres (yards) away.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast. A spokesman for Taliban insurgents said he was gathering information.


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Reuters

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