Early on Wednesday 10 February, there have been multiple bomb blasts in downtown Kabul, which killed two people and wounded many others. A bomb exploded in a vehicle killing Mohammadzai Kochai, police chief of Kabul district five, along with his bodyguard and wounding another person. Earlier, another blast in the same district wounded four people while a third blast targeted a police vehicle in Paghman district. The blasts seem to have been caused by roadside improvised explosive devices or by the so-called “sticky bombs”, small magnetic bombs attached to the undercarriages of vehicles.
These attacks follow a pattern of violence which is hitting Kabul during morning rush-hour traffic targeting politicians, activists, journalists and Afghan officials. Wednesday’s attacks came a day after four government employees were killed in the capital, while four police officers were killed in another attack in western Herat province.
Even if no group has claimed responsibility, the Afghan officials have blamed the Taliban for this wave of targeted assassinations. District five, where many of these attacks took place, is indeed a transport hub between Kabul and many of Afghanistan's southern provinces controlled by the Taliban. However, the group denied its involvement in the latest wave of violence. Furthermore, these attacks are occurring meanwhile protracted peace talks are held in Doha, Qatar’s capital between the Afghan government and the Taliban militants since September. Here, state negotiators are pushing for a permanent ceasefire, but Taliban refuse calls for a truce. In addition, the rise of violence has led the US President Biden to review the way in which peace talks are taking place, including the deal for the withdrawal of the American troops signed between the Taliban and the previous President Donald Trump.
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Author: Eleonora Gonnelli; Editor: Benedetta Spizzichino
