Terrorist acted alone and bought materials for bomb
A MASSIVE suicide truck bomb has killed 90 people and wounded as many as 400 casualties as terrorists targeted diplomats and international workers in a high security district of the Afghan capital of Kabul.
The attack yesterday left a scene of mayhem and destruction and sent a huge plume of smoke over the city.
The target of the explosion in the Wazir Akbar Khan area was not immediately known, but Ismail Kawasi, a spokesman for the public health ministry, said most of the casualties were civilians, including women and children.
It was one of the worst attacks Kabul has seen since the drawdown of foreign forces at the end of 2014, and the bombing also raised serious questions about the Afghan government’s ability to secure the war-battered nation.
Images from the scene showed the German embassy and several others heavily damaged. Germany, Japan and Pakistan said some of their embassy employees were hurt in the explosion.
The BBC said one of its drivers was killed and four of its journalists wounded. Afghanistan’s private Tolo Television also reported a staffer killed, and Germany said an Afghan security guard outside its embassy was among those who died.
The President of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, condemned the attack, which came days into the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
In a statement, Mr Ghani said: “the terrorists, even in the holy month of Ramadan, the month of goodness, blessing and prayer, are not stopping the killing of our innocent people.”
The explosion took place at the peak of Kabul’s rush hour, when roads are packed with commuters. Najib Danish, the deputy spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said the bomber detonated his truck filled with explosives close to a busy intersection, leaving a gaping crater at least 16ft deep.
The neighbourhood is considered Kabul’s safest area, with foreign embassies protected by dozens of 10ft blast walls and government offices, guarded by police and national security forces.
The Foreign Ministry and the Presidential Palace are in the area, as are the British, Canadian, Chinese, Turkish and Iranian embassies.
The US embassy and the Nato mission are about half-a-mile from the site. Both condemned the attack and the alliance praised “the courage of Afghan Security Forces, especially the police and first responders”.
Television footage showed residents soaked in blood stumbling about, then being ferried away to hospitals. Passers-by stopped and helped the wounded into private cars, and others congregated outside the nearby Italian-run Emergency Hospital. SALMAN ABEDI bought most of the key component parts of the suicide bomb he detonated in the Manchester Arena terror attack, police said.
Many of his movements and actions in the four days after his return to the UK from Libya leading up to the May 22 atrocity were also carried out alone but detectives have not ruled out that he was part of “a wider network”.
Eleven people remain in custody for questioning following a series of raids across the country as three men – two aged 20 and 24 from the Fallowfield area and a 37-year-old from Blackley – were released without charge on Tuesday.
Updating the “huge progress” made in the inquiry, Detective Chief Superintendent Russ Jackson, head of the North West counter terrorism unit, said: “Much of the investigation has been painstakingly working through Salman Abedi’s last movements. We have done this by examining his movements on CCTV and other interactions he has had, whether it be with people or the phone calls he has made.
“With specialist support we have also have a good understanding of the likely component parts of the bomb and where these came from.”
Mr Jackson said police were “especially keen” to find out why Abedi, 22, kept going back to the Wilmslow Road area of the city as they continue to attempt to trace a blue suitcase he used during those trips.
Although detectives have no reason to believe the luggage contains anything dangerous, they are warning the public not to approach it and instead call 999 immediately.
Twenty-two people were killed and dozens of others seriously injured when the bomber struck after a concert by American singer Ariana Grande. Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Coldplay and a host of other international music stars will join Grande at a benefit concert for victims on Sunday.
More than a week after the bombing, NHS England said 50 people were still being treated across eight hospitals, including 17 patients who were in critical care.