Suicide bombing targets Taliban heartland
KANDAHAR, AFGHANISTAN >> A suicide bombing outside a bank in southern Afghanistan on Thursday killed at least 20 people, including several members of the Taliban, according to hospital staff, in a bloody reminder of the terrorist threats that have persisted in the country since the U.S.-led war ended.
The attack occurred about 8:30 a.m., when a bomber detonated explosives in front of a branch of the New Kabul Bank in Kandahar City, the capital of Kandahar province, according to Taliban officials. The blast appeared to have targeted Taliban members who had gathered at the bank to collect their salaries, witnesses and hospital staff said.
About 50 others were injured, according to a doctor and a nurse at Mirwais Regional Hospital in Kandahar City who insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the news media.
Taliban officials, disputing that higher death toll, said that three people had been killed and a dozen others injured in the blast.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Taliban officials at the Ministry of Interior said their initial investigations suggested that the Islamic State group's Afghanistan affiliate had been behind the blast.
The government “condemns this attack and assures people that the perpetrators of this attack will be identified, arrested and handed over to judicial centers as soon as possible,” according to a statement from the ministry that was published on X, formerly Twitter.
Kandahar is the birthplace of the Taliban movement and home to the government's supreme leader, Sheikh Haibatullah Akhundzada. The explosion appeared to send a message that even Taliban soldiers in the group's heartland were not safe.
Although overall security in the country has improved since the U.S.-led war ended in August 2021 and the Taliban seized control, there have been sporadic attacks across Afghanistan, mostly targeting Taliban security forces and the Hazara ethnic minority.
The Islamic State affiliate in the region has claimed responsibility for many of the attacks. Since seizing power, Taliban security forces have carried out a ruthless campaign to eliminate the affiliate. Last year, the Taliban killed at least eight leaders of the group, according to American officials, and pushed many other fighters for the affiliate into neighboring Pakistan.
But the group, which has been antagonistic toward the Taliban, saying they are not carrying out true Shariah law, continues to pose a threat in Afghanistan.
WASHINGTON >> Lawmakers introduced a $1.2 trillion spending package Thursday that sets the stage for avoiding a partial government shutdown for several key federal agencies this weekend and allows Congress, nearly six months into the budget year, to complete its work funding the government through September.
Democrats were able to swat back scores of policy mandates and some of the steeper budget cuts that House Republicans were seeking to impose on nondefense programs, though House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., highlighted some wins, including a nearly 24% increase in detention beds for migrants awaiting their immigration proceedings or removal from the country.
This year's spending bills were divided into two packages. The first one cleared Congress two weeks ago, just hours before a shutdown deadline for the agencies funded through the bills.
Now Congress is focused on the second, larger package, which includes about $886 billion for the Defense Department, a more than 3% increase from last year's levels. The 1,012-page bill also funds the departments of Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Labor, and others.
“Congress must now race to pass this package before government funding runs out this Friday,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Nondefense spending will be relatively flat compared with the prior year, though some agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, are taking a hit, and many agencies will not see their budgets keep up with inflation.
When combining the two packages, discretionary spending for the budget year will come to about $1.66 trillion. That does not include programs such as Social Security and Medicare, and financing the country's rising debt.
The House is expected to take the measure up first on Friday. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., urged Republicans to vote for the measure, noting that more than 70% of the spending goes to defense.
“At at time when the world's on fire, more than ever, we need to make sure that we are properly funding our nation's defense and supporting our troops,” Scalise said.
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