At least 10 persons were killed and eight others seriously injured in an explosion that rocked the Kabul military airport on Sunday, a Taliban interior ministry spokesperson confirmed.
Spokesperson Abdul Nafee Takkur reported that an explosion caused injuries close to the military airport’s main gate in Kabul. No one has taken responsibility for the attack as of yet.
This explosion comes three days after four people were injured in a blast that rocked Taluqan city, the capital of northern Takhar province on Wednesday.
The military airport is around 200 metres (219 yards) from the civilian airport and close to the Interior Ministry, itself the site of a suicide bombing last October that killed at least four people.
Taliban security commander Abdul Mubin Safi in Takhar confirmed the explosion and stated that a bomb was placed under a local administrative staff’s desk, as per official reports.
Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor said the blast left several people dead and wounded. He gave no exact figures or further information about the bombing, saying details of an investigation will be shared later.
Local residents said a loud explosion was heard before 8 am in the vicinity of the military side of the heavily fortified airport. They said the area had been sealed off by security forces, and all roads had been closed. The Taliban-run administration has been faced with a bloody insurgency waged by the Islamic State militant group, which has in recent weeks targeted a number of key installations in Kabul, including the Russian and Pakistani embassies as well as the office of the country's former prime minister.
In the past few months, the war-torn county has witnessed increasing security incidents including explosions.
The regional affiliate of the Islamic State group — known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province — has increased its attacks since the Taliban takeover in 2021.
Targets have included Taliban patrols and members of Afghanistan’s Shiite minority. Although Taliban security forces prevented photography and filming directly at the blast site, the checkpoint appeared damaged but intact. An investigation has been launched after an explosion near a checkpoint at Kabul’s military airport killed and wounded several people on Sunday, a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Interior Affairs said.A bomb exploded near the entrance of the facility in the Afghan capital, ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takoor said.
He told Arab News: “A number of our countrymen were martyred and wounded as a result of a bomb blast that took place outside Kabul military airport.”
Takoor gave no figures or further information about the incident, saying that further details will become available later.
Local media outlets, citing security sources, said at least 10 people were killed and eight others wounded.
Residents living near the facility said a loud explosion was heard at about 8 a.m.
Eyewitness Mohammad Fahim said: “We were near the scene of the incident in the morning.“God protected us. There were some casualties.”No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, but a regional affiliate of Daesh has increased its assaults since the Taliban takeover in August 2021.
The security situation in the country has been deteriorating in recent months, with the Islamic State group’s Afghanistan affiliate claiming responsibility for multiple attacks that have targeted Russian, Pakistani and Chinese diplomats, and civilians in Kabul.
Other targets have included Taliban patrols and members of Afghanistan’s Shiite minority.
At least two Chinese nationals and more than a dozen others were wounded last month when members of the group stormed a hotel and residential complex in the center of the city.
The attacks come at a time when the Taliban’s Islamic Emirate is attempting to court international recognition as the official government of Afghanistan.
Gen. Sadiq Shinwari, who was active during the previous Afghan administration, said that the recent attacks will affect stability in the country.
He told Arab News: “If the Taliban do not pay attention to this point in security matters, then the situation may go out of control, not only in Afghanistan but also in the region, which will be a risk for instability in the future.
“The international community may be forced to take action because of the threat of terrorist groups.”
