Kabul security questioned after militants strike
KABUL — A Taliban suicide bomber killed 24 people in a horrific assault Monday in a neighborhood where prominent politicians reside, causing residents and analysts to question the government’s ability to protect Afghanistan’s capital.
Another 42 people were injured in the attack that took place during the morning rush hour as government employees and students made their way to work and school. Plumes of black smoke were seen billowing skyward outside the entrance to a private high school. Students in nearby dormitories were injured by flying glass.
Several cars were destroyed, shops that line the busy street were decimated, and many of the occupants were killed.
The suicide bomber had rammed his explosive-laden car into a minibus, said Kabul police chief spokesman Basir Mujahed.
In a statement to the media, the Taliban took responsibility for the bombing, saying the target was employees of the intelligence services. Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesman, said insurgents had spent the past two months in Kabul shadowing intelligence services employees before striking Monday.
Analysts said widespread corruption, rife within the government and the security forces, makes keeping Kabul safe a difficult job.
“You can bring any amount of explosives into the city if you have money. Corruption is the big problem,” said security analyst Waheed Muzhda. “Any group, even a small group, can bring weapons, ammunition to anywhere in the city.”
Last year Afghanistan was ranked as one of the world’s most corrupt countries according to Transparency International.
Kabul has been battered by explosions claimed by the Taliban and by the Islamic State group’s affiliate in Afghanistan. On May 31, the Afghan capital saw its worst suicide attack since the Taliban’s collapse in 2001 — an attack that killed 150 people and wounded scores.
In a statement the Interior Ministry called Monday’s attack “a criminal act against humanity.”