On Monday, February 1st, a Taliban suicide bomber struck at a police base in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing at least 10 people and injuring at least 20.
The target of the attack was the Afghan National Civil Order Police, a militarized force that fights against the Taliban. The attacker joined a line of people waiting to get inside local base of the national police and detonated the bomb after being spotted near the entrance. Most of the victims were civilians but also two police officers were found among the dead and another one suffered injuries.
“The attack by one suicide bomber left 10 people martyred and 20 wounded,” said General Mohammad Ayub Salangi, Afghanistan’s deputy interior minister.
He also tweeted that the assault happened near Deh Mazang Square, in the west of the city. Kabul has been struck by a series of similar attacks, being this one the latest in the past month.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the insurgent spokesman of the Taliban, claimed responsibility on Twitter saying that up to 40 policemen were killed and wounded. They have focused their attacks on government and foreign targets in Afghanistan, making the country unsafe and worsening the security situation. Recently, they also capture the city of Kunduz for a short period of time and took possession of the territory.
The recent Taliban attacks and its increase in the past months have coincided with international efforts to restart peace talks. Pakistan hosted the first round of talks directly with the Taliban in Islamabad, in July. The second talk was held last month in Kabul. Negotiations began after it was announced that Mullah Muhammad Omar, the movement’s leader, had died in 2013.
This last attack happened just days before a third round of international talks was going to be held and intended to revive dialogues with the Islamist group.
The representatives who will carry out the talks are from the countries of Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States. They will meet in Islamabad, on February 6th, to seek for a negotiation to end the Taliban insurgency.
Source: NY Times