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Kabul: bomb hidden in ambulance kills dozens Kabul: bomb hidden in ambulance kills dozens
(35 minutes later)
Attacker passed first checkpoint by claiming he had a patient, then detonated explosivesAttacker passed first checkpoint by claiming he had a patient, then detonated explosives
Emma Graham-Harrison and Akhtar Mohammad MakoiiEmma Graham-Harrison and Akhtar Mohammad Makoii
Sat 27 Jan 2018 14.28 GMTSat 27 Jan 2018 14.28 GMT
First published on Sat 27 Jan 2018 10.40 GMTFirst published on Sat 27 Jan 2018 10.40 GMT
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A bomb hidden in an ambulance in Kabul has killed at least 63 people and injured more than 150, the latest in a string of high-profile and deadly attacks in Afghanistan. A bomb hidden in an ambulance in Kabul has killed at least 95 people and injured more than 150, the latest in a string of high-profile attacks in Afghanistan.
The explosives were detonated at a police checkpoint where the streets are often crowded with people waiting to visit nearby offices, and vendors serving them. The explosives were detonated at a police checkpoint where the streets are often crowded with people waiting to visit nearby offices, and vendors serving them. Witnesses said bodies were strewn across the pavement.
Witnesses said bodies were strewn across the pavement. “It’s a massacre,” said Dejan Panic, a coordinator for the nearby Emergency hospital, run by an Italian charity, where many victims were taken for treatment. It was the deadliest blast in the capital since May 2017, when a truck bomb killed 150 near the German embassy, not far from from Saturday’s attack.
The death toll given by interior ministry spokesman, Najee Danish, rose rapidly in the wake of the blast, and may climb further. Most of the dead are thought to be people who were standing near the ambulance. The flood of victims nearly overwhelmed the nearby Emergency hospital, run by an Italian charity, where many victims were taken for treatment.
Although the force of the blast shook buildings hundreds of metres away, it is likely to have caused less damage to heavily fortified government buildings and embassies in the area. Dozens were laid out in rows in the hospital courtyard, as medics raced to triage survivors. “It’s a massacre,” said Dejan Panic, the charity’s coordinator for Afghanistan.
The interior ministry and the European Union and Dutch embassies are among the buildings along the street that was targeted. The attacker passed a first checkpoint by claiming he was rushing a patient to a nearby checkpoint, and then detonated his suicide bomb at a second checkpoint. The death toll given by the interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish rose rapidly in the wake of the blast, and may climb further. The streets were busy because Saturday is a working day in Afghanistan.
“Many women and children have been killed or wounded, because they were queuing outside the passport department,” said Sediqullah Popalzai, a national security official who was passing through a previous checkpoint at the time of the explosion.
“Dead bodies which were near the ambulance were unidentifiable. There were shattered bodies everywhere. It was a very tragic and devastating scene.”
The interior ministry and the European Union and Dutch and Swedish embassies are among the buildings along the street that was targeted.
But although the force of the blast shook buildings hundreds of metres away, it is likely to have caused less damage inside heavily fortified government buildings and embassies in the area.
As ambulances raced to collect the injured for treatment, nervous security forces also had to watch out for possible secondary attacks, and the nature of the first attack meant even medical teams were suspect. Popalzai said he saw police stop one ambulance and arrest three people inside.
The attacker passed a first checkpoint by claiming he was rushing a patient to a nearby checkpoint, and then detonated his suicide bomb at a second checkpoint.
The Afghanistan branch of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned that the bomber’s “harrowing” use of an ambulance could break international law.
“This could amount to perfidy under IHL (International Humanitarian Law). Unacceptable and unjustifiable,” the group said on Twitter. “Ambulances are for saving lives, not destroying them” the ICRC added.
A tragic and senseless attack.Ambulances are for saving lives, not destroying them. https://t.co/YY26Rl1xAx
The attack came a week after Taliban attackers stormed the city’s high-end Intercontinental hotel, killing at least 22 people, and four days after an Isis suicide bomber attacked the offices of the Save the Children charity in eastern Afghanistan.The attack came a week after Taliban attackers stormed the city’s high-end Intercontinental hotel, killing at least 22 people, and four days after an Isis suicide bomber attacked the offices of the Save the Children charity in eastern Afghanistan.
It raises serious questions about security, more than three years after President Barack Obama officially declared America’s war in Afghanistan had ended.
After the Taliban and Isis made inroads on territory around the country, repeatedly threatening and occasionally overrunning even provincial capitals, the US stepped up support for Afghan forces on the ground and increased airstrikes.
The general in charge of the mission, Gen John Nicholson, described the greater American role as a “gamechanger”, and said Afghanistan had “turned the corner” in its long fight against extremists.
But the recent assaults on a charity, a high-profile hotel and the heart of Kabul shows Afghan insurgents are still capable of complex attacks that are damaging to both morale and infrastructure.
Many of those killed in the Intercontinental hotel worked for Afghanistan’s Kam Air; the company has been crippled by the losses and air bridges vital in a country where insurgents control many roads have been suspended.
The attack on Save the Children also halted health and education projects that serve millions of Afghans, although the charity has vowed to resume its work as soon as safety possible.
An interior ministry spokesman blamed Saturday’s attack on the Haqqani network, a Taliban-linked group which has long been considered responsible for some of the bloodiest and most sophisticated attacks in Afghanistan.
AfghanistanAfghanistan
South and Central AsiaSouth and Central Asia
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