Twin explosions targetting protesters in Kabul have killed at least 20 people and wounded 160 others, Health Ministry spokesman Ismail Kawusi says
Photographs posted on social media showed bodies, apparently at the site of the explosion, close to where thousands of people had been protesting over the route of a planned multimillion dollar power line.
“It was just at the last minutes of the demonstration when suddenly an explosion happened. Eye witnesses are telling us that tens of people injured have been injured," Al Jazeera’s Qais Azimy reported from Kabul.
"Ambulances cannot reach the area of the explosion because that part of the road was blocked with containers by the government to prevent the demonstrators from coming to the diplomatic area of the city or get close to the presidential palace. Heavy security measures were taken.
"Yesterday government officials warned they were getting information that an explosion could happen," he said.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the blast, but it comes in the middle of the Taliban's annual summer offensive, which the insurgents are ramping up after a brief lull during the recent holy fasting month of Ramadan.
"I was in the crowd of protesters when a loud bang occurred nearby. Many people have been killed or injured - I am in deep shock," protest organiser Jawad Naji told AFP.
The 500-kilovolt TUTAP power line, which would connect the Central Asian nations of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan with electricity-hungry Afghanistan and Pakistan, was originally set to pass through the central province.
But the government re-routed it through the mountainous Salang pass north of Kabul, saying the shorter route would speed up the project and save millions of dollars.
[aljazeera.com]
23/7/16
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Related:
Photographs posted on social media showed bodies, apparently at the site of the explosion, close to where thousands of people had been protesting over the route of a planned multimillion dollar power line.
“It was just at the last minutes of the demonstration when suddenly an explosion happened. Eye witnesses are telling us that tens of people injured have been injured," Al Jazeera’s Qais Azimy reported from Kabul.
"Ambulances cannot reach the area of the explosion because that part of the road was blocked with containers by the government to prevent the demonstrators from coming to the diplomatic area of the city or get close to the presidential palace. Heavy security measures were taken.
"Yesterday government officials warned they were getting information that an explosion could happen," he said.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the blast, but it comes in the middle of the Taliban's annual summer offensive, which the insurgents are ramping up after a brief lull during the recent holy fasting month of Ramadan.
"I was in the crowd of protesters when a loud bang occurred nearby. Many people have been killed or injured - I am in deep shock," protest organiser Jawad Naji told AFP.
- The demonstrators had gathered to demand that a multi-million-dollar power line pass through their electricity-starved province of Bamiyan, one of the most deprived areas of Afghanistan with a large Hazara population.
The 500-kilovolt TUTAP power line, which would connect the Central Asian nations of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan with electricity-hungry Afghanistan and Pakistan, was originally set to pass through the central province.
But the government re-routed it through the mountainous Salang pass north of Kabul, saying the shorter route would speed up the project and save millions of dollars.
[aljazeera.com]
23/7/16
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-
Related:
Taliban attacks rock Afghanistan's Kunduz province
Afghan security forces kill 62 militants within day
Afghan official: No plans to revive Taliban peace talks
Obama: US to Maintain 8,400 Troops in Afghanistan into Next Year
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So-called Islamic State has said it was behind an attack on a protest march in the Afghan capital, Kabul, that killed at least 61 people and wounded 200...
ReplyDeleteThe IS-linked Amaq news agency said two fighters "detonated explosive belts at a gathering of Shia" in Kabul.
The attack in Deh Mazang square targeted thousands from the Shia Hazara minority who were protesting over a new power line, saying its route bypasses provinces where many of them live.
The Taliban have condemned the attack....BBC
L'organisation Etat islamique (EI) a revendiqué samedi l'un des plus sanglants attentats jamais commis à Kaboul, tuant plus d'une soixantaine de personnes au cœur d'une manifestation pacifique de la minorité hazara chiite.
ReplyDelete"Malheureusement, 61 personnes ont été tuées et 207 blessées", a indiqué en fin d'après-midi un porte-parole du ministère de la Santé.
Via son agence de presse Amaq, l'EI a affirmé que "deux combattants de l'Etat islamique ont fait exploser leurs ceintures explosives lors d'un rassemblement chiite dans le quartier Dehmazang à Kaboul en Afghanistan" .
Le ministère de l'Intérieur avait précédemment évoqué "un kamikaze à pied" ayant déclenché sa charge au milieu d'une foule dense. Mais dans un communiqué le président afghan Ashraf Ghani a évoqué, en anglais et en dari, "plusieurs explosions", sans autre détail.
L'attentat s'est produit en fin de cortège alors que plusieurs milliers de manifestants, issus pour l'essentiel de la communauté hazara, minoritaire dans l'Afghanistan majoritairement sunnite, défilaient depuis le matin dans le calme.
Cet attentat, le premier depuis le 30 juin à Kaboul, semble le premier de cette ampleur dans la capitale afghane que revendique l'EI depuis son implantation dans le pays, principalement à l'est, début 2015.....rtbf.be