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ISIS Claims Deadly Blasts at Demonstration in Kabul, Afghanistan ISIS Claims Deadly Blasts at Demonstration in Kabul, Afghanistan
(about 4 hours later)
KABUL, Afghanistan — Two explosions rocked a peaceful demonstration in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, on Saturday, organizers and eyewitnesses said, with the government reporting at least 80 dead. KABUL, Afghanistan — The Islamic State claimed two explosions that left at least 80 people dead at a peaceful demonstration in the Afghan capital of Kabul Saturday, raising fears that the group may be extending its reach beyond the country’s eastern pockets, where it generally operates.
The Afghan ministry of the interior, in a statement, reported the casualties and said 231 had been wounded in the blasts. The Afghan Interior Ministry, in a statement, said the attack on thousands of Hazaras, an ethnic minority group staging the protest, had been a suicide mission. “The attack was carried out by three suicide bombers: The first person carried out a blast, the second one failed at his detonation and the third terrorist was killed in shooting by the security forces,” the ministry said. The second assailant was presumed to be at large, a security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to discuss intelligence matters.
The Islamic State, in a statement through the group’s Amaq News Agency, claimed the carnage as a “martyrdom attack on Shias.” The Taliban, who are often behind major assaults in Afghanistan, denied any involvement. At least 231 people at the protest were wounded. The demonstrators had gathered in the west of Kabul to demand that a proposed electricity transmission line be routed through Bamian, a Hazara-dominated province in central Afghanistan.
Afghan security officials said that while Kabul remained under constant insurgent threat, they had no prior intelligence on a particular threat to the protest. The Islamic State, in a statement on the group’s Amaq News Agency, claimed the carnage as a “martyrdom attack on Shias.” Officials saw the Islamic State’s first assault on the Afghan capital as retaliation for operations by Afghan ground forces and American airstrikes that have intensified in recent weeks, targeting the group’s stronghold in eastern Nangarhar Province.
Much of the city was already under lockdown; the government had stacked shipping containers to block routes to the presidential palace in anticipation of the demonstration by Hazaras, an ethnic minority group. They had gathered in the west of the city to demand that a proposed electricity transmission line be routed through the Hazara-dominated central province of Bamian. Afghan security officials said that while Kabul remained under constant insurgent threat, they had no prior intelligence of a particular threat to the protest. After the attack, officials intercepted information from Islamic State commanders in the Achin district, the group’s base in eastern Afghanistan where villagers have been terrorized for months now, congratulating each other for the carnage, the security official said.
The Hazaras have only in the past decade tried to shake off a long history of oppression. The protest leaders claimed the government remained rife with “systematic bias” against the Hazaras, and had routed the electricity transmission line elsewhere, depriving the central Afghan region not only of electric power but also of the roads and other infrastructure that would come with it. President Ashraf Ghani, appearing on national television to announce a day of mourning, called the bombing a “cowardly attack on the freedoms of our citizens.” In meetings with religious leaders and his security team, he said the attack had been the work of the Islamic State.
The government has rejected the claims, saying the route of the transmission line was decided purely on technical grounds. Tadamichi Yamamoto, the United Nations envoy to Afghanistan, said the deliberate targeting of a large group of civilians amounted to a war crime.
Muhammad Ali, a protester at the site of the blast whose clothes were covered in blood, said he had loaded dozens of dead bodies into trucks. “This incident is an outrage that cannot be justified,” Mr. Yamamoto said. “It is an attempt to spread terror amongst civilians and stifle the freedoms that Afghans have sacrificed so much to obtain.”
Much of the city had already been under lockdown before the protesters came out to the streets early Saturday morning. Mr. Ghani’s government had stacked shipping containers to block routes to the presidential palace in anticipation of the demonstration.
The Hazaras have only in the past decade tried to shake off a long history of oppression. The protest leaders claimed the government remained rife with “systematic bias” against the Hazaras, and had routed the electricity transmission line elsewhere, depriving the central Afghan region not only of electricity, but also of the roads and other infrastructure that would come with it.
The government has rejected the claims, saying the route of the transmission line was decided purely on technical grounds and that Bamian would still be provided with electricity. (Government officials, who said they have increased efforts to address the plight of central Afghanistan in the past two years, consider the protests manipulated by the political opposition.)
A sign held by an elderly woman proved hauntingly ominous: “Do not eliminate us,” the sign, printed on a piece of paper, read.
After the explosion, pictures circulated of the sign covered in spots of blood lying by the side of the road, next to a small green umbrella and human flesh. The fate of the woman was unclear.
Muhammad Ali, a protester at the site of the blast whose clothes were covered in blood, said he had personally loaded dozens of dead bodies into trucks.
“People were going toward a prayer break when two explosions happened — one near the truck where speeches were given,” Mr. Ali said.“People were going toward a prayer break when two explosions happened — one near the truck where speeches were given,” Mr. Ali said.
Hundreds of protesters returned to the site immediately after the carnage, cordoning off the area with a large Afghan flag they had carried in their march earlier, lowering the cordon only to allow ambulances to pass. When the armored vehicle of a government official approached, angry men chased it away. Doctors were overwhelmed at the nearby Istiqlal Hospital, which received about 86 wounded and 17 dead. The facility was so crowded that the children’s ward had to be turned into a makeshift operating room. About 200 people lined up outside to donate blood.
As tempers flared at the government, protesters also pushed away anti-riot police forces who had provided security earlier in the day. Hundreds of protesters returned to the site after the blasts, cordoning off the area with a large Afghan flag they had carried in their march earlier, lowering the cordon only to allow ambulances to pass. When the armored vehicle of a government official approached, angry men chased it away. As tempers flared at the government, protesters also pushed away anti-riot police forces who had provided security earlier in the day.
Saturday’s attack was the deadliest of the past 15 years on the Hazaras, a largely Shia group. In December 2011, a suicide-bombing in a Shia shrine in Kabul killed at least 63 people, mostly Hazaras. Later in the evening, protest leaders argued around a candlelight vigil over whether to bury the dead or display their coffins at a protest in the coming days. The large flag, laid on the ground by then, became a display surface for objects left behind: women’s sneakers, notebooks, backpacks, articles of clothing.
Saturday’s attack puts further pressure on President Ashraf Ghani’s struggling government. As it tries to build momentum by introducing reforms, Mr. Ghani’s coalition administration has struggled with infighting and meeting deadlines to hold parliamentary elections. The protest over the electricity transmission line has only added to the administration’s woes. Saturday’s attack was one of the deadliest in the past 15 years on the Hazaras, a largely Shia group. In December 2011, a suicide-bombing in a Shia shrine in Kabul killed at least 63 people, mostly Hazaras.
The attack puts further pressure on President Ghani’s struggling government. Even as it tries to build momentum by introducing reforms, Mr. Ghani’s coalition administration has struggled with infighting and meeting deadlines to hold parliamentary elections. The protest over the electricity transmission line has only added to the administration’s woes.
“The government stacks containers for its own protection, but cannot provide security to its citizens even when they have multiple security cameras,” said Ahmad Behzad, a protest organizer, pointing to the surveillance balloons in the Kabul sky.