Islamic State group claim bombing of Taliban ministry in Kabul
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Taliban security officials patrol after a suicide bomb attack outside the headquarters of the Ministry of Urban Development.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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KABUL - The Islamic State group on Feb 15 claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing of a Taliban government ministry in Afghanistan which killed one person and wounded at least three more this week.
Violence has waned in Afghanistan since the Taliban surged back to power and ended their insurgency in 2021, but the Islamic State (ISIS) group frequently stages gun and bomb attacks challenging their rule.
The suicide attacker attempted to enter the Afghan ministry of urban development and housing in Kabul on Feb 13 but was shot by guards and detonated himself, Taliban government interior ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani told AFP.
He said one person had been killed and three wounded but Kabul’s Emergency Hospital put the toll at one dead and five wounded – four of them critically – after the attack at around 9.30am local time.
An Islamic State communique translated by the Site Intelligence Group said the attacker “detonated his explosive vest on multiple officials and guards inside” a headquarters of “the apostate Taliban militia”.
On Feb 12, the group also claimed an attack on a north Afghanistan bank that killed eight people, saying it had targeted Taliban government employees collecting their salaries.
The Taliban government has declared security its highest priority since returning to power and analysts say they have had some success quashing ISIS with a sweeping crackdown.
However, the group remains active, targeting Taliban officials, visitors from abroad and foreign diplomats.
ISIS claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed the Taliban government’s minister for refugees
Six civilians were also killed in an IS-claimed attack in 2023 that took place near the Taliban government’s heavily fortified foreign ministry.
A UN Security Council report released last week said the ISIS group were “the most serious threat to the de facto authorities, ethnic and religious minorities, the United Nations, foreign nationals and international representatives” in Afghanistan. AFP
