On Saturday, 61 protesters were killed, and 207 were wounded in Afghanistan capital, Kabul. Two suicide bombers detonated their belts, inside the group of the demonstrators. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Afghan capital has been struck by a massive explosion that left dozens dead and hundreds injured, hospital and local clinics have claimed the gravity of the victims. Local authorities are still investigating the matter. Ismail Kawosi, the spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health in Kabul, confirmed the 61 deaths and 207 injuries as CBS News reports.
A pool of death in the Afghan capital
Hundreds of Hazara members, a minority group of Shiite Muslims, were gathered to protest against a power project that neglected them from the service. This is not the first time the group has claimed their rights.
The power project Hazaras were protesting is known as the TUTAP line, which is held by the Asian Development Bank and includes Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. The electrical plan, once considered Bamiyan province (were Hazaras live) but was restructured in 2013.
Hazaras are accounted for having a 15 percent population of Afghanistan’s 30 million locals.
Since the restructuration, made by the previous government of the country, Hazaras have been protesting for their human rights, since it has been seen as a rejection of the poor community and their lack of privileges.
The march of protesters was taking place at the Demazang Square, which is near from the Afghan Parliament and Kabul University. Hazaras had been in the location for a couple of hours and were settling camp.
In May, the Hazaras claimed their rights to electrical power along with their political leaders in a similar protest.
The Islamic State confirmed on their media wing called Amaq, their responsibility for the massive death pool in Kabul. According to the statement, two of their suicide bombers detonated their belts when infiltrated in the crowd. ISIS sees within their beliefs all Shiite members as apostates.
“I saw tens of people laying down in blood around me and hundreds of people running away from the scene,” said CNN-related journalist, Fatima Faizi.
Local authorities, hospitals and media reports show bodies laying on top of each other and body parts scarred along the location. A march organizer, Laila Mohammadi, arrived minutes after the attack and described the horrifying scene.
Afghanistan’s government had received intelligence information that assured an attack was going to take place, confirmed a spokesman for the Afghan President to the Associated Press. In the statement, it’s assured march organizers were warned about the situation.
The government had planned to talk to protesters again, on late Saturday and President Ashraf Ghani, was going to appear on live television to address the subject. After the happening, the president assured the Afghan’s free right to protest and confirmed further investigations are no the way.
Source: CNN