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Kabul Suicide Bomb Kills 17 People at Supreme Court

Kabul Suicide Bomb Kills 17 People at Supreme Court
folder_openAfghanistan access_time10 years ago
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Local Editor

A suicide car bomber struck outside the Supreme Court in the Afghan capital Tuesday, killing at least 17 people and wounding 39 in the second consecutive day of militant attacks in the heart of Kabul.

Kabul Suicide Bomb Kills 17 People at Supreme CourtThe Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying their fighter had taken down judges who obey Western powers.

President Hamid Karzai condemned the bombing, saying it was another "terrorist act that once again shows the Taliban are serving the enemies of Islam."
The bombing was the deadliest attack in Kabul since Dec. 6, 2011, when a suicide bomber on foot hit worshippers at a Shiite shrine, killing at least 80 people.

Tuesday's explosion struck as court employees were leaving the building by the back entrance after the day's work, mostly in buses or private cars, said police officer Jahn Agha.
Police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai said the bomber drove an SUV and specifically targeted the buses with court workers. Police said all the victims were civilians or court staff.
The courthouse is on a busy main road in central Kabul, near the US Embassy. The NATO headquarters is also nearby.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack, saying in a statement the militants were obliged to attack "cruel judges" who do the bidding of foreign powers.
The Taliban and other groups have unleashed a wave of bombings and assassinations around the country.

The movement said it would go after government workers as part of its spring campaign targeting those serving Karzai's "puppet" administration.
"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was obligated to act against this puppet regime because the people have suffered under the courts," said Mujahid, referring to the Taliban by the name they were known when they ruled Afghanistan.

Monday, seven Taliban fighters with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns launched a rare assault on NATO's operational headquarters at the military section of Kabul's international airport. All seven militants were killed and two civilians were wounded in the violence.

Earlier Tuesday, the UN in Afghanistan expressed concern over what the mission said was a surge in civilian casualties in the first six months of the year.

Jan Kubis, the UN special representative to Afghanistan, said 3,092 civilians were killed or wounded from January to June. That represented a 24 percent increase in the first six months of 2013, compared to the same period last year, he said.

However, Kubis refused to provide a full breakdown of the dead and wounded, saying those figures would be released in July. That made it unclear if what had increased were the number of dead or the number of wounded.
Kubis blamed the increase on the insurgency, saying it was trying to take advantage of the withdrawal of foreign troops to increase their attacks.
"Because of their campaign, civilian casualties have increased and the situation has worsened," Kubis said.

In another attack Tuesday, two police officers and two truck drivers were killed when insurgents attacked a convoy carrying cargo through the eastern province of Ghazni.
Deputy police chief Asadullah Insafi said three insurgents were also killed in the attack.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

 

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