7 die in Kabul suicide blast targeting clerics
KABUL: A suicide bombing targeted a gathering of Afghanistan’s top clerics yesterday in Kabul, killing at least seven people and wounding nine, police said. Shortly before the attack, the clerics had issued a fatwa against suicide bombings and urged peace talks to end the Afghan war.
Ghafor Aziz, police chief of Kabul’s 5th District, said the bomber detonated his explosives near the entrance of a compound where the religious body, known as the Afghan Ulema Council, was meeting under the traditional tent of the Loya Jirga, the council of elders.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Initially, four people were reported killed but police soon raised the death toll to seven and said nine people were wounded. It was not clear how many of the clerics were among those killed.
Aziz said had the attacker penetrated deeper, the casualty numbers could have been significantly higher.
Najib Danish, spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, said the seven fatalities included one policeman. Two policemen were among those wounded in the bombing, he added.
Around 2 000 council members had gathered for the meeting. The explosion struck as the council was ending and participants about to leave.
Shortly before the attack, the clerics had issued an Islamic ruling, or a fatwa, declaring suicide attacks “haram” – forbidden under Islamic law.
The council appealed to both Afghan government forces and the Taliban and other militants to halt the fighting and agree on a ceasefire. It also called for peace negotiations. It was the first time the council had issued such an appeal.
Less than an hour before the attack, Ghofranullah Murad, a member of the council, read out a statement from the gathering saying that innocent Afghan men, women and children are the true victims of the 17-year-long war. “The ongoing war in Afghanistan is illegal and has no root in Sharia (Islamic) law,” the statement said. “It is illegal according to Islamic laws and it does nothing but shed the blood of Muslims.
“We the religious Ulema call on the Taliban to respond positively to the peace offer of the Afghan government to prevent further bloodshed in the country.”
The fatwa also said that killing people by any means – such as bombs and suicide attacks – as well as violent acts, including robbery and kidnapping, count as sins in Islam.
In April, the Taliban announced the start of its annual spring offensive but in recent years, the insurgent group and also the Islamic State affiliate in the country carry out near-daily attacks through all the seasons.
The Taliban have seized control of several districts across the country and regularly target Kabul, the capital.
Both militant groups seek to establish strict Islamic rule in the country.