“It Felt Like An Earthquake”: Huge Bomb Explosion Kills 80 Near Embassies, Military Bases In Afghan Capital
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
May 31, 2017
A huge bomb exploded near heavily guarded embassies and military bases in the Afghan capital on Wednesday, killing at least 80 people and wounding more than 300 others, many as they headed to work on foot or in buses, the interior ministry and witnesses said, the WSJ reported.
The death toll from the attack is expected to rise as more bodies are discovered in the debris. The explosion happened at around 8:30 a.m. local time in the Wazir Akbar Khan area, a busy neighborhood that’s home to many foreign embassies and the presidential palace, Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish told Bloomberg. Women and children were among the dead and wounded.
According to Reuters, the bomb, one of the deadliest in Kabul and coming at the start of the holy month of Ramadan, exploded close to the fortified entrance to the German embassy, wounding some staff, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said. He said that one Afghan security guard was killed and others were likely among the dead. “Such attacks do not change our resolve in continuing to support the Afghan government in the stabilization of the country,” he said.
Basir Mujahid, a spokesman for city police, said the explosives were hidden in a sewage truck. He suggested that the German embassy might not have been the target of the blast, which sent clouds of black smoke into the sky near the presidential palace.
The Taliban, the biggest insurgent group in the country, denied responsibility for the attack, which occurred shortly after the White House and Pentagon announced that they are considering sending an additional 3,000 special forces “advisors” to the country, WSJ added. The Islamic State hasn’t taken responsibility either. Terrorist violence in Afghanistan and Iraq is expected to increase in the coming weeks as ISIS has called for an escalation of strikes to coincide with the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, WSJ reported.
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