With deadly blast in Kabul, life is looking dire in Afghanistan
A bomb blast in a mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan, killed several civilians Sunday, Taliban officials said.
The explosion at the Eid Gah Mosque occurred during prayers for the mother of the Taliban’s spokesman, according to Reuters.
It appeared to be the largest such attack since the Taliban seized control of the country amid the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces in August.
No one immediately claimed responsibility; Islamic State militants who oppose Taliban rule were considered possible suspects. Three people were arrested, according to a Taliban spokesman.
The bombing underlined how precarious conditions in the country remain, even if it’s largely out of recent headlines in the U.S.
A top European Union official warned Sunday Afghanistan was on the verge of social and economic collapse.
The dire conditions could lead to a humanitarian catastrophe, E.U. foreign policy chief Josep Borrell wrote in a blog post.
“There are many signs that the situation in the country is getting worse,” he wrote. “For instance, we have seen the formation of an interim government that is neither inclusive nor representative. And we have reports that women and girls are excluded from schools and universities, which goes against initial assurances from the Taliban.”
The U.S. halted direct aid to Afghanistan when the Taliban took over, although it restarted some humanitarian assistance last month. The E.U. has increased humanitarian aid while cutting off development funds, according to Borrell.
The Afghan economy is experiencing inflation, banking is “largely paralyzed” and the health system is “on the verge of collapse,” the E.U. official wrote.
“Desperate people may flee the country, creating a mass migratory movement affecting the neighboring states that already host more than 3 million Afghan refugees,” he wrote.
The Taliban was notorious for terrorist attacks that claimed thousands of lives during the two decades that U.S. forces were in the country.
But now it is having to contain rival militants using the same tactics.