On Sunday, 20 December, a car bomb explosion took place in Kabul. The attack was directed against an Afghan lawmaker, who survived the explosion. However, the attack caused numerous deaths and injuries, damaged surrounding buildings and set several cars on fire.
The attack took place in the west of the capital, as the car of the parliamentary member Khan Mohammad Wardak was driving through the Khoshal Khan district of Kabul. According to estimates by the Ministry of the Interior, about nine people were killed and 15 injured, including women, children and elderly people. However, these data may be subject to increase, as the number of victims is still uncertain. As for the perpetrators, although no group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, the spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior claims that it was a terrorist attack.
The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General noted that the Taliban and the Government have made significant progress in the peace negotiations, which are currently suspended until January. However, despite the positive progress in the peace process, the last three months have seen a significant increase in violence affecting several provinces of Afghanistan. In this regard, early this week the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US consulted first with the Taliban and then with the Afghan President, stressing to both sides that they should work to reduce the levels of violence in the country.
To read more, please visit:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/20/car-bomb-kills-8-wounds-15-in-afghan-capital
https://www.un.org/press/en/2020/db201217.doc.htm
Author: Francesca Mencuccini; Editor: Carla Leonetti
