A suicide bombing that took place near the Afghanistan capital Kabul claimed the lives of three people while wounded 15 on Wednesday, the interior ministry stated as the violence in the nation puts a major threat to the fragile peace process.
It is yet not clear who was behind the operation in the month of Ramadan and amidst the coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic and also the after the peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.
Suicide bombing near Kabul
"A suicide bomber detonated his explosives among civilians," interior ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said in a statement, adding that the blast happened in the Char Asiab district of Kabul province, about 11 km (7 miles) from the capital. Hopes for an end to Afghanistan's decades of war were raised in late February when the Taliban Islamist militants and the United States struck a deal for the withdrawal of US-led foreign forces in exchange for Taliban security guarantees.
In the run-up to the pact, there was a one-week reduction in violence, but attacks and bombings have continued since, with the Taliban having rejected calls for a ceasefire. The United Nations has expressed alarm at the number of civilians killed in March and the US commander in Afghanistan this month travelled to Doha to meet Taliban leaders and warn them the violence must be reduced.
On Wednesday, another blast in Kabul wounded three civilians who were taken to hospital, police said. Nine people were killed and seven hurt in a Taliban attack on security checkpoints controlled by pro-government militia in northern Semangan province on Tuesday, a provincial police spokesman said, with an unknown number of Taliban casualties. The Taliban did not respond to a request for comment on the attack in Samangan and a spokesman said he was looking into the blast in Kabul.
(With agency inputs)
