7 August 2019 Kabul bombing

Last updated
7 August 2019 Kabul bombing
Part of War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
Afghanistan adm location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Bombing site
Bombing site (Afghanistan)
Location map Afghanistan Kabul.svg
Red pog.svg
Bombing site
Bombing site (Kabul)
Location Kabul, Afghanistan
Coordinates 34°29′50″N69°06′51″E / 34.49722°N 69.11417°E / 34.49722; 69.11417
Date7 August 2019 (2019-08-07)
09:00 (AFT; UTC+04:30)
TargetA police station and a military training school in west Kabul
Attack type
 Suicide car bombing
Deaths14
Injured145
Perpetrators Flag of the Taliban.svg Taliban
 

A suicide car bomb exploded at a security checkpoint outside a police station in the Afghanistan capital, Kabul, on 7 August 2019. [1] The explosion occurred in the early morning, in a predominantly Shia neighbourhood in western Kabul. [2] At least 14 people were killed and 145 injured, mostly civilians. [3] The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, citing that one of their suicide bombers attacked "a recruitment centre". [1] The attack occurred as ongoing negotiations between the Taliban and the United States were being conducted. [2]

Contents

Background

Following the September 11 attacks, the United States requested that the Taliban hand over Osama bin Laden, the leader of the terrorist group Al-Qaeda. [4] After the Taliban refused, the US and other nations invaded Afghanistan. [5] [6] The Taliban still has control over 59 districts. [7]

Over the years, the US has negotiated with the Taliban to end the war, with a likely solution that involves the withdrawal of US troops before the 2020 US presidential election being proposed in July and August 2019. [8] Despite these ongoing peace negotiations, the Taliban has targeted civilians that would participate in the 2019 Afghan presidential election [9] in various attacks carried out in the first half of 2019. The group has threatened to disrupt the elections on August 6, calling the elections "worthless" because they have no legitimacy. [10]

This is not the first time in which a police station was targeted. In April 2019, a large attack was carried out by the Taliban in western Afghanistan in which 30 soldiers and police officers were killed. [11] A similar event occurred on July 27, 2019, when a suicide bomb near a police headquarters in Ghazni Province killed three police officers and wounded 12. [12] The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has stated that the month of July 2019 was the deadliest in Afghanistan since May 2017 due to a rise in civilian casualties. [13]

The military training school that was targeted also served as a recruitment center for security forces. [3]

Attack

The bomb was detonated around 9:00 am AFT on August 7, 2019, when a vehicle targeted the gates of District 6 police headquarters. [14] The vehicle was stopped at a security checkpoint outside the building. The police headquarters was located in Golaee Dawa Khana, a Shi’ite neighborhood. [15] The police headquarters and a military training school were the main targets. The explosion left thick smoke in the sky and formed a large crater. The police station, a nearby military training school, and all windows in a radius of a mile were destroyed. [16]

The explosion left 14 people dead, including four police officers, and 145 wounded, mostly women and children; 92 of the wounded were civilians. [17] Two of the attackers were killed, however one was arrested. The bomb used has been identified as a car bomb, with the Taliban claiming that a larger truck bomb was used instead. [18] The attack occurred days before the Islamic holiday of Eid Al Adha. [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taliban insurgency</span> Insurgency during the War in Afghanistan

The Taliban insurgency began after the group's fall from power during the 2001 War in Afghanistan. The Taliban forces fought against the Afghan government, led by President Hamid Karzai, and later by President Ashraf Ghani, and against a US-led coalition of forces that has included all members of NATO; the 2021 Taliban offensive resulted in the collapse of the government of Ashraf Ghani. The private sector in Pakistan extends financial aid to the Taliban, contributing to their financial sustenance.

The 2009 NATO Afghanistan headquarters bombing occurred on August 15, 2009, when a Taliban suicide bomber detonated himself outside the NATO headquarters in Kabul, Afghanistan. The bomber killed at least seven people and injured 91.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 in Afghanistan</span> List of events

Events from the year 2012 in Afghanistan.

The following lists events from 2014 in Afghanistan.

The following lists events that happened in 2013 in Afghanistan.

The following lists events that happened during 2015 in Afghanistan.

The following lists events that happened during 2016 in Afghanistan.

Events in the year 2017 in Afghanistan.

On 31 May 2017, a truck bomb exploded in a crowded intersection in Kabul, Afghanistan, near the German embassy at about 08:25 local time during rush hour, killing over 150 and injuring 413, mostly civilians, and damaging several buildings in the embassy. The attack was the deadliest terror attack to take place in Kabul. The diplomatic quarter—in which the attack took place—is one of the most heavily fortified areas in the city, with three-meter-high (10 ft) blast walls, and access requires passing through several checkpoints. The explosion created a crater about 4.5 meters (15 ft) wide and 30 feet deep. Afghanistan's intelligence agency NDS claimed that the blast was planned by the Haqqani Network. Although no group has claimed responsibility, the Afghan Taliban are also a suspect but they have denied involvement and condemned the attack. It was the single largest attack on the city up till that point.

Events in the year 2018 in Afghanistan.

Events from the year 2019 in Afghanistan.

The 2019 Kabul mosque bombing occurred around 01:20pm on 24 May 2019 when worshippers and the imam were inside the mosque for Friday prayer. The explosives were placed in the mosque's microphone which was used by the imam. At least three people were killed, including the imam, Samiullah Rayhan, and nearly 20 people were injured. So far, no group or individual has claimed to be responsible for the attack.

On 17 August 2019, a suicide bombing took place during a wedding in a wedding hall in Kabul, Afghanistan. At least 92 people were killed in the attack and over 140 injured. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility for the bombing, stating that the attack targeted the Shi'ites. More than 1,000 people were gathered for the wedding when the attack took place. The attack occurred a day before the 100th Afghan Independence Day, causing the government to postpone the planned celebrations taking place at the Darul Aman Palace. It was the deadliest attack in Kabul since January 2018.

On 17 September 2019, two suicide bombings killed over 48 people in Charikar and Kabul, Afghanistan. The first attack occurred at a rally for president Ashraf Ghani which killed over 26 and wounded over 42. Ghani was unharmed in the incident. The second bombing occurred in Kabul near the US embassy. In this incident 22 were killed and another 38 were injured in the explosion. Children and women were among the dead and wounded in both attacks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Bagram Airfield attack</span> Taliban bombing and attack on a US airfield in Afghanistan

In the early morning of December 11, 2019, the Taliban attacked Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, which at the time was controlled by the United States military. The attackers used two car bombs which killed two civilians and injured 80 others.

Events in the year 2020 in Afghanistan.

In May 2020, a series of insurgent attacks took place in Afghanistan, starting when the Taliban killed 20 Afghan soldiers and wounded 29 others in Zari, Balkh and Grishk, Helmand on 1 and 3 May, respectively. On 12 May, a hospital's maternity ward in Kabul and a funeral in Kuz Kunar (Khewa), Nangarhar were attacked, resulting in the deaths of 56 people and injuries of 148 others, including newborn babies, mothers, nurses, and mourners. ISIL–KP claimed responsibility for the funeral bombing, but no insurgent group claimed responsibility for the hospital shooting.

In a continuation of previous attacks by the Taliban in May and June, multiple clashes between Afghan security forces and the Taliban were reported. They carried out several attacks throughout Afghanistan, resulting in multiple fatalities on both sides. Both the Taliban and government forces have accused each other responsibility over the recent surge in violence across Afghanistan. The attacks come despite the signing of a peace deal with the U.S. in February that was intended to put an end to the war.

References

  1. 1 2 "Kabul attack: nearly 100 injured in Taliban bombing, say officials". The Guardian. 2019-08-07. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2019-08-07.
  2. 1 2 "Kabul" . The Independent. Archived from the original on 2012-02-26. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
  3. 1 2 "Taliban suicide blast in Kabul kills 14 people, injures 145". Los Angeles Times. 2019-08-07. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
  4. ↑ "The history of the Afghanistan war". Newsround. 7 March 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  5. ↑ "A Timeline of the U.S. War in Afghanistan". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  6. ↑ "Civilians Killed & Wounded | Costs of War". watson.brown.edu. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  7. ↑ "Afghanistan: Who controls what". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  8. ↑ "The U.S. is Close to a Peace Deal With the Taliban, Officials Say". Time. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  9. ↑ "UN Afghan Mission 'outraged' by deadly Taliban attack in Kabul, as hardline group threatens election violence". UN News. 2019-08-07. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  10. ↑ "Taliban Attack In Kabul Kills At Least 14". NPR.org. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  11. ↑ Abed, Fahim (2019-04-04). "Taliban Attack Kills Dozens in Afghanistan Despite U.S. Efforts in Peace Talks". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  12. ↑ "Three Police Killed In Taliban Suicide Attack In Southeast Afghanistan". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  13. ↑ "UN reminds parties of their responsibility to protect civilians - Civilian casualty rates spike in July". UNAMA. 2019-08-03. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  14. ↑ Ehsan Popalzai (7 August 2019). "14 dead and 145 people injured in Taliban bomb attack in Afghanistan". CNN. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  15. ↑ "At Least 14 Killed, 145 Wounded In Taliban Car Bombing In Kabul". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  16. ↑ Abed, Fahim; Faizi, Fatima; Mashal, Mujib (2019-08-07). "Violence in Afghanistan Worsens as U.S.-Taliban Peace Talks Plod On". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-08-08.
  17. ↑ Faiez, Rahim; Anna, Cara (August 7, 2019). "Taliban suicide blast in Kabul kills 14 people, 145 wounded". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on August 7, 2019. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  18. ↑ "Taliban bomb Kabul amid peace talk 'progress'". 2019-08-07. Retrieved 2019-08-10.
  19. ↑ "Taliban claims it's behind one of year's worst attacks in Kabul, with scores dead and wounded". www.cbsnews.com. CBS/AP. 7 August 2019. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.