At least five dead in Christmas suicide attack as ‘desperate’ ISIS claim responsibility
A SUICIDE bomber on foot blew himself up close to a compound of Afghanistan’s national intelligence agency in the capital, Kabul, on Monday, killing at least five people and wounding two, government officials said.
By THOMAS HUNT
Express.co.uk
Mon, Dec 25, 2017
The blast comes a week after Islamic State claimed an attack on a training facility of the same agency, the National Directorate for Security, in Kabul that ended when the attackers were killed before causing significant casualties.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for an explosion on Monday carried by a suicide bomber near a compound of Afghanistan’s national intelligence agency in the capital, Kabul, the group said on its Amaq news agency.
The blast, close to the entrance of the security agency compound, Afghan government officials said.
An official said the explosion occurred close to the agency’s entrance.
Ismail Kawsi, a spokesman for the ministry of public health, said at least three dead and one wounded had been taken to city hospitals.
Najib Danish, a spokesman for the interior ministry, said at least five people had been killed and two wounded.
Islamic State’s local affiliate, which first appeared in eastern Afghanistan near the border with Pakistan in early 2015, has become increasingly active and has claimed several recent suicide attacks in Kabul.
It has frequently fought Taliban militants and has been heavily targeted by U.S. air strikes and Special Forces operations in its main stronghold in Nangarhar province.
But there remains considerable uncertainty about how the group operates and the exact nature of its connections with Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
It follows reports ISIS could be about to try and turn Afghanistan into their next stronghold, according to a political analyst for the Russian International Affairs Council.
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