Pak diplomats among 400 injured; embassy buildings, homes, vehicles damaged; Taliban deny responsibility; PM, COAS condemn terrorist attack, say Pakistan to stand firmly with all Afghans
KABUL: At least 90 people were killed and hundreds wounded on Wednesday when a massive truck bomb ripped through Kabul's diplomatic enclave, bringing carnage to the streets of the Afghan capital just days into the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramazan.
Bodies littered the scene and a towering plume of smoke rose from the highly-fortified area, which houses foreign embassies, after the powerful blast in the morning rush hours blew out the windows of missions and residences. Emergency was imposed to prevent further deterioration in Kabul.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Foreign Office of Pakistan have strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Kabul and said that Pakistan is committed to stand firmly with all Afghans at this time.
A Western diplomatic source said the vehicle was a water tanker stuffed with more than 1,500 kilogrammes of explosives and left a seven-metre deep crater at the scene. Rescue workers were digging bodies from the rubble hours after the explosion. Dozens of damaged cars choked the roads as wounded survivors and panicked schoolgirls sought safety. Men and women struggled to get through security checkpoints to search for loved ones.
It was not immediately clear what the target was. But the attack underscores spiraling insecurity in Afghanistan, where a military beset by soaring casualties and desertions is struggling to beat back insurgents.
"Unfortunately, the toll has reached 90 martyred and over 400 wounded, including many women and children," said health ministry spokesman Waheed Majroh, adding the figures would continue to climb as more bodies are pulled from the debris.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, slammed by President Ashraf Ghani as a "war crime". The Taliban -- currently in the midst of their annual "spring midst of their annual "spring offensive" -- tweeted that they were not involved and "strongly condemn" the blast.
The insurgent group rarely claims responsibility for attacks that kill large numbers of civilians. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for several recent bombings in the Afghan capital, including a powerful blast targeting a NATO convoy that killed eight people earlier this month.
NATO said the bomb was a VBIED, or vehicle-borne improvised explosive device, which detonated near Kabul´s Zanbaq Square at 8.22am. "The vigilance and courage of Afghan security forces prevented the VBIED from gaining entry to the Green Zone, but the explosion caused civilian casualties," the alliance´s Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan said in a statement.
The explosion damaged a number of embassies in the area, which houses diplomatic and government buildings and is a maze of concrete blast walls, vehicle barriers and armed security guards.
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said the "despicable" attack killed an Afghan guard from the German embassy, and added that some employees had been injured, though he did not give further details. He said the bomb had detonated "in the immediate vicinity" of the German embassy.
The BBC said its Afghan driver Mohammed Nazir was killed and four of their journalists wounded. Local TV channel Tolo TV also tweeted that its staff member Aziz Navin was killed.
Manpreet Vohra, India´s envoy to Afghanistan, told media the bomb went off around 100 metres from India´s embassy. All staff were safe, he said, though the blast left "considerable damage", including shattered windows.
The explosion also blew in windows at the Japanese embassy, leaving two staffers with mild injuries, a foreign ministry official in Tokyo said.
France, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Bulgaria similarly reported damage to their embassies, while India and Pakistan joined in international condemnation of the blast. The Nato statement, which praised the "courage" of Afghan forces, slammed the attack as "barbaric.”
"It highlights the hypocrisy of the enemy who claims that they only target Afghan Security Forces and Foreign forces, yet continue to cause death and suffering among innocent Afghans," it said.
US ambassador to Afghanistan Hugo Llorens issued a scathing statement condemning the "complete disregard for human life", saying those behind the attack deserved our “utter scorn.”
Amnesty International warned that it “shows that the conflict in Afghanistan is not winding down but dangerously widening, in a way that should alarm the international community.” Pentagon chief Jim Mattis has warned of "another tough year" for both foreign troops and local forces in Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa have condemned the terrorist attack in Kabul.
The condolence message from Pakistan reiterated condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and committed to stand firmly with all Afghans at this time.
The early morning attack near the diplomatic enclave as residents left for work is still not being claimed by any terrorist group.
The prime minister and the COAS, while strongly condemning the horrific terrorist attack expressed their sympathies and prayed for the early recovery of those who have been injured in the attack.
The COAS in a statement also said that Pakistan and its armed forces were with the Afghan people and its security forces against terrorists and militants. The spokesman at the Foreign Office, meanwhile, said that the blast has caused damage to the residences of some Pakistani diplomats and staff, living in the close vicinity, and inflicted minor injuries to some.
“Pakistan strongly condemns the terrorist attack in Kabul this morning that has caused loss of precious human lives and injuries to many”, the spokesman said in a statement, adding that Pakistan being a victim of terrorism understands the pain and agony that such incidents inflict upon the people and society.
“The people and government of Pakistan extend their heartfelt sympathies and deepest condolences to the government and the people of Afghanistan and the bereaved families”, he said.
Meanwhile, the Afghan Taliban denied responsibility for a vehicle bomb attack in Kabul on Wednesday. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement the movement´s fighters had no involvement and said the movement condemned any such untargeted attacks that caused civilian casualties.
Meanwhile, Chief of Tehrik Nifaz-e-Fiqh Jafria Allama Syed Hamid Ali Shah Moosavi has venemently condemned the Kabul blast that claimed a large number of innocent lives. He said such acts of terror can only be perpetrated by enemies of humanity and Islam.
