Motorcycle Suicide Bomber Targets Muslim Clerics, Kills Eight
Kabul: A motorcycle suicide bomber killed at least eight people on June 4 near the entrance to a two-day peace gathering of Muslim clerics in the Afghan capital, security officials and a witness said, the latest attack in a growing cycle of violence.
The bomb exploded at the entrance to a giant tent, near residential buildings in the west of Kabul, after most the clerics had left, a witness said. Women living nearby were crying as they gathered with their families.
"People were wounded, people were shouting," a witness told Reuters.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which underlines deteriorating security ahead of parliamentary and district council elections set for October 20.
The Taliban, fighting to restore strict Islamic rule after their 2001 ouster at the hands of US-led troops, denied involvement.
More than 2,000 religious scholars from across the country began meeting on June 3 at the Loya Jirga (Grand Council) tent, denouncing years of conflict. They plan to issue a fatwa, or religious ruling, demanding that Taliban militants restore peace to allow foreign troops to leave.
A series of bombings in Kabul has killed dozens of people in recent months and shown no sign of easing during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
On May 30, gunmen armed with assault rifles and grenade launchers stormed the heavily fortified headquarters of the interior ministry, battling security forces for more than two hours.
In April, two explosions in Kabul killed at least 26 people, including nine journalists who had arrived to report on an initial blast and were targeted by a suicide bomber.
A week earlier, 60 people were killed and more than 100 wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a voter registration centre in the city.
Militant group Islamic State has claimed responsibility for many attacks in Kabul but security officials say several are much more likely to be the work of the Haqqani network, a group affiliated with the Taliban.
Provincial cities have also been hit as the Taliban have stepped up operations across the country since they announced the beginning of their annual spring offensive in April.
(Reuters)
This article went live on June fourth, two thousand eighteen, at eighteen minutes past three in the afternoon.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
