Afghanistan NewsAt least eight people were killed and 18 injured when a bomb hidden in a vehicle exploded near a mosque in the minority Shia area of the Afghan capital on Friday.
Also on Friday, hundreds of Afghans – apparently organized by the Taliban – rallied in several provinces, condemning last Sunday’s US drone strike that killed al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahari on the balcony of a safe house in Kabul. happened.
According to Khalid Zadran, the Taliban-appointed spokesman for the Kabul police chief, the car bombing took place in the Sar-e Karez area, in western Kabul. Initial reports said two people died, but the death toll rose sharply as the injured were taken to local hospitals.
“Once again, the enemy attacked (holy days) and killed innocent civilians,” Zadran said. He said that the police have started investigation.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Islamic State group is likely to be blamed, which has targeted Afghanistan’s Shiite minority in large-scale attacks in the past.
IS’ regional ally, known as the Islamic State in Khorasan province, has increased attacks on mosques and minorities across the country since the Taliban seized power last August.
IS operating in Afghanistan since 2014 is seen as the biggest security challenge facing the country’s Taliban rulers. Following its takeover of Afghanistan, the Taliban have launched widespread crackdowns against IS headquarters in the east of the country.
Five gunmen, including two Taliban fighters, were killed in an encounter between the Taliban and IS on Wednesday. Fighting broke out near the Sakhi temple in the Karti Sakhi neighborhood as people were busy preparing for the Ashura, which commemorates the 7th century death in battle of Imam Hussain, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.
At anti-US rallies after Friday prayers, religious scholars and protesters condemned the attack that killed al-Zawahri, calling the attack a violation of international principles and, in particular, the US administration calling for the US withdrawal with the Taliban. signed the agreement. Soldiers from Afghanistan.
Demonstrators carried banners with the slogan “Death to America” and shouted slogans against President Joe Biden.
The Taliban did not say that al-Zawahri was killed in the drone strike. In a statement on Thursday, he insisted he had “no information about the arrival and residence” of the al-Qaeda leader in Kabul.
However, despite the Taliban denying information about al-Zawahari’s presence, US officials have said that he was living in a safe house in Kabul belonging to the Taliban’s deputy leader. Al-Zawahari was killed in the attack when he escaped from the balcony of a safe house.
The strike further strained relations between the Taliban and the West, especially as Afghanistan’s rulers sought immediate cash to handle the devastating collapse of the economy that followed the US withdrawal a year earlier.