Shelling hits in Kabul; ISIS takes credit
KABUL, Afghanistan — An upstart Islamic State group affiliate claimed responsibility for a mortar attack Tuesday morning in Kabul that wounded at least 10 civilians as Afghans marked their country’s Independence Day. The attack took place after new uncertainties over the start of talks between the Taliban and the Kabul government.
According to the SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks militant groups’ online activity, ISIS in a “communique” claimed credit for the firing of 16 mortar shells, which targeted the presidential palace, embassies and Afghan government offices.
The Interior Ministry’s spokesman, Tariq Arian, said 14 mortar shells were fired from two vehicles in the northern and eastern part of the Afghan capital. Four children were among the wounded.
According to eyewitnesses, who spoke on condition of anonymity fearing reprisals, at least one mortar shell landed in the upscale Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood, where diplomats and senior government officials reside.
Also on Tuesday, Afghanistan’s intelligence agency said that it killed the ISIS chief justice Abdullah Orakzai in a “complex and targeted operation,” without elaborating.
The statement said Orakzai had orchestrated a prison break earlier this month in eastern Nangarhar province that killed at least 39 people. Nearly 400 ISIS militants escaped in the first hours of the attack.
The mortar attack in Kabul hit a day after the government said it would not release the last 320 Taliban prisoners it holds until the insurgents free more captured Afghan soldiers.