80
dead and hundreds injured in Kabul 'suicide bomb' attack
Isis has claimed
the attack on a protest in the Afghan capital
Karim Sharifi Kabul
At least 80 people
have been killed and more than 230 injured after an apparent a
suicide bomber detonated his explosives-packed clothing among a large
crowd of demonstrators in Kabul, officials and witnesses said.
In a statement
issued by its news agency, Aamaq, Isis group claimed responsibility
for the attack on a protest march by Afghanistan's ethnic Hazaras.
The marchers were demanding that a major regional electric power line
be routed through their impoverished home province. Most Hazaras are
Shiite Muslims, while most Afghans are Sunni.
Waheed Majroeh, the
head of international relations for the Ministry of Public Health,
confirmed the death toll and said it was likely to rise “as the
condition of many of the injured is very serious.”
Footage on Afghan
television and photographs posted on social media showed a scene of
horror and carnage, with numerous bodies and body parts spread across
the square.
Other witnesses said
that after the blast, security personnel shot their weapons in the
air to disperse the crowd. Secondary attacks have been known to
target people who come to the aid of those wounded in a first
explosion.
Road blocks that had
been set up overnight to prevent the marchers accessing the center of
the city or the presidential palace hampered efforts to transfer some
of the wounded to hospital, witnesses said. People took to social
media to call for blood donations.
Angry demonstrations
sealed some of the area around the square, and prevented police and
other security forces from entering. Some threw stones at security
forces.
The government had
received intelligence that an attack on the march could take place,
and had warned the organizers, a spokesman for Afghan President
Ashraf Ghani told The Associated Press.
“We had
intelligence over recent days and it was shared with the
demonstration organizers, we shared our concerns because we knew that
terrorists wanted to bring sectarianism to our community,”
presidential spokesman Haroon Chakhansuri said.
Two suicide bombers
had attempted to target the demonstrators, who were gathering in
Demazang Square as their four-hour protest march wound down, Haroon
Chakhansuri said. One of the suicide bombers was shot by the police,
he told AP. He said that three district police chiefs on duty at the
square were injured and another three security personnel were killed.
He said Ghani
planned to meet with the organizers later on Saturday, and would make
a live television appearance after that.
None of the
organizers could be immediately reached for comment.
Earlier, one of the
march organizers, Laila Mohammadi, said she arrived at the scene soon
after the blast and saw “many dead and wounded people.”
Ghani released a
statement condemning the blast. “Peaceful demonstrations are the
right of every citizen of Afghanistan and the government will do
everything it can to provide them with security,” Ghani said,
blaming the blasts on what he called “terrorists.”
The commander of
U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, U.S. Army Gen. John Nicholson
condemned the attack. He said in a statement that “our condolences
go out to those who are affected by today's attack. We strongly
condemn the actions of Afghanistan's enemies of peace and remain
firmly committed to supporting our Afghan partners and the National
Unity Government.”
The US embassy in
Kabul also issued a condemnation, saying: “Our thoughts and prayers
are with the families and loved ones of the deceased, and we wish all
of those who were wounded a full recovery.”
The rights group
Amnesty International said the “horrific attack ... demonstrates
the utter disregard that armed groups have for human life.”
“Such attacks are
a reminder that the conflict in Afghanistan is not winding down, as
some believe, but escalating, with consequences for the human rights
situation in the country that should alarm us all,” it quoted
Champa Patel, Amnesty's South Asia director, as saying.
Violence had been
widely feared at what was the second demonstration by Hazaras over
the power line issue. The last one in May attracted tens of thousands
of people, also shutting down the central business district.
The May march was
attended by Hazara political leaders, who were notable by their
absence on Saturday.
At the height of the
march, demonstrators chanted slogans against the president and Chief
Executive Abdullah Abdullah, shouting “death to discrimination”
and “all Afghans are equal.”
The so-called TUTAP
power line is backed by the Asian Development Bank with involvement
of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The original plan routed the line through Bamiyan province, in the
central highlands, where most of the country's Hazaras live.
That route was
changed in 2013 by the previous Afghan government. Leaders of the
marches have said that the rerouting was evidence of bias against the
Hazara community, which accounts for up to 15 percent of
Afghanistan's estimated 30 million-strong population. They are
considered the poorest of the country's ethnic groups, and often
complain of discrimination. Bamiyan province, where most Hazara
people live in the central highlands, is poverty stricken, though it
is largely peaceful and has potential as a tourist destination.
Hazaras, most of
whom are Shia Muslims, were especially persecuted during the
extremist Sunni Taliban regime that ruled from 1996 to 2001.
Associated Press
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