Afghanistan: Suicide bombing attack claims 6 lives, injures 13 in Kabul

A suicide bombing attack in Afghanistan's capital Kabul killed six people and injured 13 on Monday, September 2, reported AFP. The attack took place in Qala-e-Bakhtiar area of Kabul's southern outskirts on Monday afternoon, when a suicide bomber triggered multiple explosives in a public area.

While there was no immediate claim to responsibility for the bombing attack, several terror groups remain active in Afghanistan as violence continues across the country since the 2021 Taliban takeover.

The last suicide attack in Afghanistan took place in Kandahar in March this year, and the regional chapter of the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Taliban regime said that the death toll in the suicide attack was three, while local hospitals claimed that over 20 people died in the Kandahar bombing.

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Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP last month that Islamic State "existed here before but we suppressed them very hard". "No such groups exist here that can pose a threat to anyone," he said.

Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said "a person wearing explosives on his body detonated", and one woman was among the fatalities. "The injured were transferred to hospitals on time and investigations are ongoing," he posted on social media platform X.

The Islamic State, a rival terrorist group of the ruling Taliban government, has carried out dozens of attacks throughout Afghanistan in the last three years, targeting schools, hospitals, residential areas and Shiite localities.

Meanwhile, the Taliban authorities have declared security their highest priority amid the recent surge in violence across Afghanistan. The Taliban government has asserted multiple times the security is their top-most concern following the chaotic withdrawal of foreign forces three years ago.

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While their sweeping security operations have led to a decline in terrorists challenging their rule, according to analysts, they also downplay or delay confirmation of attacks.

The Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021 following the chaotic departure of U.S. and NATO troops after 20 years. Despite initial promises of a more moderate stance, the Taliban gradually reimposed a harsh interpretation of Islamic law, or Shariah, as they did during their previous rule of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001.

(With inputs from AFP, AP)

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