The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in the Afghan capital city, Kabul that killed at least six people and wounded several others.
The IS claimed that the attacker waited near the main gate of the Attorney General’s Office in Kabul and detonated his explosive vest in front of the vehicle of the employees. In the statement, IS claimed that over 45 people, including Taliban members, were killed and wounded in the bombing.
“The attack came in retaliation for Muslim prisoners in Taliban prisons, especially after their transfer to the notorious (Bagram) prison, in a repeat of the American era and its practices against prisoners,” IS said in a statement.
Bagram base was first built by the Russian forces
Originally the Bagram base was first built by the Russian forces when they occupied Afghanistan in the 1980s, but then came under the control of the US forces when they entered Afghanistan in 2001. After the Taliban took over power on 15 August 2021, they took control of the base and Daesh claimed that Taliban were treating “Muslim prisoners” in Bagram prison, evoking memories of the US era and its actions against detainees.
According to Reuters, in the early years of the Afghan war under President George W. Bush, the CIA used Bagram as a “black site” detention centre for terrorism suspects, subjecting them to abuse that President Barack Obama would later acknowledge as torture.
In contrast to the Daesh claim, the Taliban Ministry of Interior confirmed the dead of six people, and the injuries of another 13 people, according to Kabul Police Spokesman Khalid Zadran.
Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur for Afghanistan had called the Kabul attack as “shocking” and called for accountability.
In a post on X, Bennett condemned the violence, stating that “nothing justifies such violence” and emphasized the need for a full investigation and a fair trial to hold those responsible to account.
IS waged an insurgency against Taliban
Since the start of Taliban ruling in Afghanistan in 2021 following the withdrawal of US troops after 20 years of occupation, the IS waged an insurgency against the Taliban, who they see as their enemies.
Only not in Afghanistan, the IS increased its attacks, but also IS claimed a number of attacks abroad, including a stabbing rampage in Germany, a concert hall attack in Moscow and a memorial bombing in Iran.
In Afghanistan, IS remained active, regularly targeting civilians, foreigners and Taliban officials with gun and bomb attacks and it has been very deadly.
The last deadly attack carried out by IS was in Kandahar city in March in which over 20 people were killed and dozens others received injuries.
Kandahar is considered as the Taliban’s historic stronghold and the IS bomber struck a group of people waiting outside the Kabul Bank.
In 2022, IS suicide bombers killed 53 people, including 46 girls, at an education center in Kabul.
However, the Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid had recently said that IS existed in Afghanistan before but the Taliban had suppressed them very hard and denied the existence of such a group in the country.
