Afghanistan: car bomb kills and injures dozens

An explosion in Afghanistan An explosion in Afghanistan Photo by Guvendemir on iStock

04 May 2021

21 people were killed and more than 100 were injured following the detonation of a vehicle loaded with explosives

On April 30th, 21 people lost their lives following the explosion of a VBIED (Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device) in Puli-e-Alam, the provincial capital of Logar, in eastern Afghanistan; over 100 more, including women, children, and students were injured.  Some of the buildings in the area, including a hospital and several residential homes, were also damaged.

The attack took place in the wake of a decision made by American president Joe Biden to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan by September 11th 2021, thus ending 20 years of continued military operations in the country. Some suspect that this announcement angered Taliban forces and may have contributed to this attack as, under a previous agreement made with the Trump administration, troops were to have been removed by the 1st of May; while no group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack the president of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, has blamed the Taliban.  Hasibullah Stanekzai, the head of the Logar provincial council, noted that the event occurred at the time of the breaking of the fast in the course of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Furthermore, he claimed that among the victims were high school students, who were staying in a guesthouse in preparation of taking their university entrance exams at the capital; members of a pro-government militia housed in the same facility, awaiting transport to another district, were also among the casualties. Many were transported to Kabul to receive health care and assistance.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres, as well as the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), have both offered their condolences to the families of the victims. Furthermore, the Secretary-General hopes that the current observance of Ramadan will be a good opportunity to help unite the Afghan community in the journey towards attaining peace within the country.

 

To read more, please visit:

UN condemns deadly attack at guesthouse in Afghanistan | | UN News

Suicide bombing kills over 20 in Afghanistan’s Logar province | Asia News | Al Jazeera

Statement attributable to Spokesperson of the Secretary-General on Afghanistan | United Nations Secretary-General

Afghanistan: car bomb kills at least 21 as US prepares to withdraw troops | Afghanistan | The Guardian

 

Author: Sara Taherzadeh; Editor: Maxime Grenier

Read 647 times