The political gathering attended by Afghanistan’s chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah and former president, Hamid Karzai has been targeted, multiple explosions could be heard in Kabul on Thursday.
The meeting was to mark the 24th death anniversary of Abdul Ali Mazari, leader of Hezb-e-Wahdat, who was killed by the Taliban in 1995.The group was formed to bring together nine separate, mostly rival military and ideological groups into a single entity during the period of the Afghan civil war in the early 1990s. Political Islam was the party’s main ideology but the party gradually tilted towards its Hazara ethnic support base.
According to Government officials, the attack killed at least three people and wounded 22. However an official from the ceremony anonymously told the press that 10 were wounded and seven killed. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
Nasrat Rahimi, a representative of interior ministry said, “We have received reports of explosions in the western part of Kabul. An investigation has been launched.”
The explosions came in the form of mortar shells from a house in Kabul’s District 18, another source from the interior ministry told the local media.
A foreign reporter said “military vehicles were seen heading towards the venue”.
“There was intelligence last night that there may be an attack as many high-value targets were expected to be there,” according to a source from Kabul.
The country’s chief executive and former president were unharmed. Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, who was in attendance, later tweeted “terrorists launched rocket attacks on the commemoration ceremony.”
“The ministry of interior has informed us that they have arrested one person that they believe may have fired the rocket and that special forces have surrounded a house in the proximity of the gathering from where the rockets were fired.” Foreign Reporter.
A witness speaking to the local news agency said that the police cleared out the area and were trying to evacuate the attendees. “The people I saw being evacuated were those inside their homes, which had smoke and fire coming out of them,” the anonymous witness said. People were trying to use any means of transport available in order to evacuate the wounded quickly to the hospital,” he said. “One of the injured was lying on a cart,” he further added.
The attack took place while the series of peace talks aiming to end the 18-year conflict were taking place between US and Taliban, in Qatar.