KABUL: In a statement released by the foreign office, Pakistan has condemned a powerful explosion and follow-up attack on Monday in downtown Kabul claimed by the Taliban that left dozens dead and injured 105 people, according to Afghan officials.
The attack, which began as an initial car bomb explosion outside the ministry of defense during morning rush hour and as children were headed to school, comes as the seventh round of Taliban-US peace talks aimed at ending Afghanistan’s 18-year war are underway in Qatar, and just days after President Ashraf Ghani’s visit to Pakistan to discuss bilateral issues of trade and security.
“Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,” the foreign office statement said. “Such attacks are detrimental to the cause of peace, security and stability in Afghanistan.”
Following the car explosion, in a commando-style attack, a group of assailants armed with rocket propelled grenades entered a building around the defense ministry, leading to hours of a sporadic gunbattle between the militants and police and security forces, witnesses said, as the area was cordoned off by special forces.
Outside, scenes of horror followed as wounded schoolchildren were taken to hospitals, with one injured student in shock still clutching his pencil and notebook to his chest while being transported for treatment.
According to an Afghan NGO that supports media freedom, Nai SOMA, seven journalists working in a nearby building were also wounded by the explosion.
The death toll is still uncertain with the New York Times reporting on Monday, that 40 people had died in the blast.
The Afghan Education Ministry said fifty-one children in two schools near the blast site were hurt by flying shards of glas.
“It was very powerful and heard throughout the entire city,” Ahmad Shah, a resident who lives in close proximity of the explosion told Arab News.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that the group’s fighters attacked “the logistics and engineering centers” of the ministry of defense. He conceded that civilians were hurt by the bombing but said the target of the attack was not civilian, but military.
Condemnations have poured in from around the world with the US embassy in Kabul calling the incident the Taliban’s “latest brutal attacks against fellow Afghans.”
The United Nations, NGOs and the Afghan government have criticized the Taliban for causing civilian casualties and Afghans have decried the attack on social media, many sharing photos of injured children.
Following the armed assault on the capital, Afghanistan’s chief executive, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, said in a Twitter post that the attack showcased the Taliban’s “inherent criminal nature.” He said the government would not be deterred by “such outrage to pursue & punish the miscreants,” and congratulated Afghan security forces “for punishing them hard in recent months.”
The latest round of US-Taliban talks which are regarded as crucial, have focused on issues ranging from counter-terrorism and withdrawal of foreign troops to an intra-Afghan dialogue and a comprehensive cease-fire.
The Taliban say a deal is expected, with the insurgent group’s primary focus the departure of foreign troops from Afghanistan.
Both Taliban and Afghan forces, backed by US troops, have intensified their attacks in recent months as part of an effort to have the upper hand on the negotiations table.