AFGHANISTAN VICE-PRESIDENT SURVIVES BOMB ATTACK; AT LEAST 10 PEOPLE KILLED

KABUL: A roadside bomb in Kabul targeted first Afghan vice-president Amrullah Saleh on Wednesday but he escaped unharmed. The explosion killed at least 10 people.

The Taliban denied involvement in the attack, which comes just ahead of longawaited peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Doha, Qatar.

“Today, once again the enemy of Afghanistan tried to harm Saleh, but they failed in their evil aim, and Saleh escaped the attack unharmed,” Razwan Murad, a spokesman for Saleh’s office, posted on Facebook.

Saleh appeared in a video on his social media accounts soon after, saying he had sustained a minor burn on his face and an injury to his hand in the attack.

The Taliban group’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a post on Twitter that Taliban fighters were not involved in the blast.

The explosion, apart from killing at least 10 civilians, also wounded 15 people including Saleh’s security guards, according to the interior ministry.

India condemns attack

India has condemned the attack, saying it stands with Afghanistan in the fight to eradicate “terror infrastructure and sponsors”. “India strongly condemns cowardly terrorist attack on Afg VP @Amrullahsaleh2. Our condolences to martyrs & prayers with injured,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said on Twitter.

THE EXPLOSION, APART FROM KILLING AT LEAST 10 CIVILIANS, ALSO WOUNDED 15 PEOPLE INCLUDING AMRULLAH SALEH’S SECURITY GUARDS