Taliban attack takes six lives in Kabul
3 April 2014 11:11 PM GMT
A Taliban suicide bomber blew himself outside Afghanistan’s interior ministry in central Kabul on Wednesday, killing himself and at least six policemen, the latest in a string of attacks ahead of Afghanistan’s 5 April presidential election. Taliban insurgents also killed nine civilians including a provincial council candidate in northern Afghanistan, local officials said.
The Islamist Taliban have promised to do everything in their power to disrupt the April 5 vote when Afghans elect a successor to the incumbent president, Hamid Karzai, who is barred by the constitution from running again. The Kabul attack came on the last day of campaigning for an election that is intended to mark the first democratic transfer of power in Afghanistan’s history.
‘A suicide bomber wearing a military uniform... detonated his explosives at the main gate of the interior ministry,’ the ministry said in a statement. ‘As soon as the bomber saw some policemen he detonated his explosives. It was impossible for him to enter the facility with the suicide vest,’ a ministry spokesman added.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in an e-mail, saying the bomber had penetrated a third ring of security at the ministry before setting off the blast.
The Islamist Taliban have promised to do everything in their power to disrupt the April 5 vote when Afghans elect a successor to the incumbent president, Hamid Karzai, who is barred by the constitution from running again. The Kabul attack came on the last day of campaigning for an election that is intended to mark the first democratic transfer of power in Afghanistan’s history.
‘A suicide bomber wearing a military uniform... detonated his explosives at the main gate of the interior ministry,’ the ministry said in a statement. ‘As soon as the bomber saw some policemen he detonated his explosives. It was impossible for him to enter the facility with the suicide vest,’ a ministry spokesman added.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in an e-mail, saying the bomber had penetrated a third ring of security at the ministry before setting off the blast.
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