Afghanistan’s first vice president was injured and at least 10 civilians were killed when a roadside bomb detonated in Kabul as his convoy passed.
First Vice President Amrullah Saleh suffered minor burns from the Wednesday attack, and several of his bodyguards were wounded by the blast. In addition to the 10 dead civilians, at least 31 other people were injured, according to the Associated Press. Saleh’s spokesman, Razwan Murad, labeled the explosion a “vicious terrorist attempt.”
The explosion occurred in a part of Kabul that sells gas cylinders, and several buildings near the blast site subsequently caught fire, the Interior Ministry said. Saleh appeared on television soon after the blast and addressed the attack with his hand bandaged.
“Me and my younger son, who was also with me, are fine,” the vice president said. “I have slight burns on my face and hand from the wave of the blast. I don’t have exact details right now, but I apologize to those who suffered casualties and those who lost their property in the attack.”
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani met with Saleh after the bombing and said that the “terrorists and their foreign backers cannot undermine the people’s strong faith in peace, democracy, and the bright future of our country.”
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed denied that the militant group was involved in the attack and said the explosion “had nothing to do” with the Taliban. Saleh, who served as the country’s former intelligence chief, is a vocal opponent of the Taliban.
The explosion comes as the Afghan government is expected to begin talks with the Taliban in Doha, Qatar. The terrorist group has continued to attack Afghan military targets despite signing a peace deal with the United States in February in order to facilitate the withdrawal of U.S. forces.
Gen. Frank McKenzie, commander of U.S. Central Command, announced Wednesday that the U.S. is planning to reduce the number of troops in the country from more than 5,000 to 3,000 by the end of September.
“This reduced footprint allows us to continue advising and assisting our Iraqi partners in rooting out the final remnants of ISIS in Iraq and ensuring its enduring defeat,” McKenzie said during a speech in Iraq.
The Islamic State’s Khorasan Province branch has perpetrated several attacks across the country in 2020, although it is unclear if it is behind the attack against Saleh’s convoy.
ISKP, which operates primarily in Afghanistan and Pakistan, claimed responsibility for a brazen and protracted August siege against a jail in Jalalabad. Hundreds of inmates, many ISKP and Taliban fighters, managed to escape, although many were captured and brought back into custody.
After the successful Delta Force operation that resulted in the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the terrorist group named Amir Muhammad Sa’id Abdal-Rahma al Mawla as its leader. The State Department this summer announced that it is offering $10 million for information about the identity or location of al Mawla.
