Investigators were combing through the tankers that lay in smoldering ruins and a gas station caught in the flames that lit up the area late Saturday, said ministry spokesman Tariq Arian.
There was no immediate indication of whether it was an accident or sabotage. It came on the same day the U.S. and NATO officially began the final phase of a withdrawal from Afghanistan, ending a nearly 20-year military engagement.
All 2,500-3,500 American soldiers and about 7,000 NATO allied forces will be out of Afghanistan at the latest by Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks in the United States that first brought them into the country.
Arian said the fire began when a spark set a fuel tanker ablaze. Nearby tankers were quickly engulfed, sending giant flames and plumes of smoke into the night sky. The fire in the northern edge of the city engulfed several homes and a nearby gas station. Several structures were destroyed and electricity to much of Kabul, which usually has only sporadic power, was knocked out.
Truck drivers Sunday blocked the road leading to the area demanding the government provide compensation.
The injured were being treated mostly for burns in local hospitals.
The fire came soon after residents of the majority Muslim nation – marking the holy month of Ramadan when the faithful fast from sunrise to sunset – had ended their day-long fast.
One driver, Haji Mir, said the explosion was deafening as trucks were lined up to enter the city. He estimated that as many as 100 trucks may have burned.
“The first explosion sounded like a mine explosion,” he said. “There were flames shooting from one truck and then a second truck exploded, and a third.”
Dozens of tankers were moving slowly into the capital at the time of the blaze. They had been waiting until after 9 p.m. when fuel tankers and other large trucks are allowed to enter Kabul.
The American author John Maxwell has nicely advised leaders, “You must be big enough to…
As cheers of spectators reverberate, Ravi Jeep Rally becomes more than just a sporting event…
In a welcome development for travelers, flights operated by Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in the…
“Agriculture, as a sector, hold the key to prosperity, food security, and the socioeconomic upliftment…
Months after a witty, holier-than-thou, jack-of-all-trades caretaker government retreated from the executive, repeated horrors from…
For all those hoping to see matured Pak-India relations enter a new chapter of normalisation,…
Leave a Comment