Provincial officials reported that the blast occurred in Ghani Khel district on Saturday 3 October 2020, causing the death of at least 15, most of whom were civilians, women and children, and a soldier from the National Directorate of Security. According to official statistics, 41 were injured in this incident. However, unofficial statistics report 52. People were wounded in the blast, when it hit near a mosque as local villagers were reuniting for the afternoon prayers.
Provincial governor’s spokesman Attaullah Khogyani says that many armed men wanted to enter the provincial district buildings right after the explosion, but the Afghan forces killed them before reaching the facility. Although no group immediately claimed responsibility for this attack, the spokesman of the Afghan Ministry of Interior, Tariq Arian, blamed the insurgent Taliban. Indeed, the armed group has carried 650 attacks over the last two weeks, resulting in 69 civilians killed and 141 wounded people. Others believe the Islamic State affiliates, who are also active in the area, were responsible for the attack.
In conclusion, this attack, as well as the others, happened as representatives of both the Afghan government and the Taliban are opening intra-Afghan negotiations in Doha, Qatar, to end the country’s decades-long war, following the US-Taliban peace deal signed in February 2020 in Doha.
To know more, please read:
https://apnews.com/article/asia-pacific-taliban-afghanistan-7f32479e641f1e52eb1c19ae7d7c320d
Author: Barbara Caltabiano; Editor: Margherita Curti
