Kabul witnessed a deadly explosion yesterday (Friday, September 23). The explosion occurred in front of the gate of “Wazir Akbar Khan” mosque, leaving dozens of victims killed and injured. The Taliban called this explosion caused by explosive materials embedded inside a car, and say that as a result of this explosion, seven people died and 41 others are injured. Eyewitnesses, however, describe the number of victims of this event as more than what the Taliban have reported. According to available statistics and reports, more than ten suicide and explosive attacks have occurred in Kabul, Balkh, and Herat provinces in the past month. These explosions have left dozens dead and injured.
Around 2:00 A.M. on Friday, 23 September 2022, a powerful explosion occurred in front of the entrance gate of Wazir Akbar Khan Mosque located in the 10th district of Kabul city. Wazir Akbar Khan is a diplomatic area and is located in the security green zone of Kabul city. Also, the Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan Grand Mosque hosts hundreds of worshipers on Fridays. Khalid Zadran, the spokesman of the Taliban Security Depart in Kabul, said that as a result of this explosion, seven people died and 41 others are injured. He stated that this explosion was caused by the explosive materials embedded in a car that targeted civilians when they were leaving the mosque.
According to the statements of the Taliban Security officials, all the victims of this incident are civilians, but eyewitnesses say that several Taliban members were also killed or injured in this incident. In this event, the children who came to this mosque with their parents to perform Friday prayers are also among the injured. The spokesman of the Taliban Security Department has not yet provided more details about this incident.
Jawed Paikan, a resident of Kapisa province, is also one of the victims of yesterday’s explosion. Relatives of Mr. Paikan told Hasht-e-Subh Daily that he had a Master’s Degree in the military, and he had worked in the Passport General Directorate during the former government. According to Mr. Paikan’s relatives, he has four children, including two daughters and two sons, and one of his sons was also injured in this incident.
Eyewitnesses say that the explosion was extremely powerful and occurred exactly when the worshipers were leaving the public gate of the mosque. There are short videos published from this bloody incident, which show the intensity of the explosion clearly. According to the witnesses of the incident, the people who filmed the scenes after the explosion with their mobile phones were arrested by the Taliban and taken to prison. Most of the injured people in this incident have been transferred to the Wazir Akbar Khan Public Hospital, which is located close to the incident area. Several other injured people have been transferred to different hospitals in Kabul city. Officials of the Emergency Hospital in Kabul say that ten injured and four dead bodies have been transferred to this hospital. Taliban security officials have not yet provided details about the condition of the injuries from this incident.
In response to this explosion, the Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that targeting mosques and worshipers is an “unforgivable crime”. He asked the people to cooperate with the Taliban regime to prevent explosive attacks. However, Mr. Mujahid did not explain how the people should cooperate with them.
Although the Taliban claim that they have full control over the country’s security situation, in the last three months, major cities of the country have witnessed at least one explosive or suicide attack every week. The country’s capital has witnessed at least one security incident per day in the last three days. According to reports, on Thursday, 23th of September, at around 7:00 PM, an explosion occurred in the area of the” Panjsad Family” in the Khair Khana area, which is located in the 15th security district of Kabul city. The Taliban have not disclosed the details of this explosion to the public, but public sources say that this explosion caused casualties, and also financial losses to the people.
Another event occurred on Wednesday, 21 September, Kabul city witnessed a powerful explosion inside a restaurant in the Dehmazang area. The explosion had occurred near the head office of the “Breshna” Electricity Company when some people were having a meal in the restaurant. Khaled Zadran, the spokesman of the Taliban Security Department in Kabul, has reported three people dead and 13 injured in this incident. Public sources have confirmed that at least eight employees of Breshna Electricity Company were killed by this explosion. Although a team has been sent to investigate the explosion, the details of the explosion have not been made public so far.
In the past, explosive and suicide attacks in Kabul have killed civilians too. An explosion occurred in front of the gate of the Russian Embassy on Dar ul-Aman Road in the 6th district of Kabul city, this incident happened before noon on Monday, 19 September 2022. As a result of this explosion, including two employees of the Russian Embassy, eight people died and more than 11 others were injured. Most of the victims of this incident were young people who had come to the embassy to obtain study visas. The ISIS group took the responsibility for this attack.
In addition to this bloody attack, two other intense explosions occurred on Saturday night, 17 September 2022, in the Dasht Barchi area of the 13th district of Kabul city. As a result of these two explosions, at least six people were injured. The occurrence of these explosions disturbed the security of Kabul city and worried the residents of the capital.
According to the available statistics and reports, more than ten suicide attacks or explosions have occurred in Kabul and several major cities in the last month alone. In the deadly explosion that took place on Friday, 9 September 2022, inside the Gozargah Mosque in Herat city, including Maulvi Mujib al-Rahman Ansari, a pro-Taliban religious scholar, 46 other worshipers died and more than 86 others were injured. This explosion was caused by a suicide attack. The suicide bomber detonated his explosives while shaking hands with Maulvi Ansari. The Taliban Officials announced the number of victims of this suicide attack as 18 dead and 23 wounded. Children were also among the victims of this suicide attack.
The Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid described this suicide attack as a “cowardly attack” and said that the perpetrators of this incident will be identified and get punished. Sibghatullah Ahmadi, the spokesman of the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan, responded to the statements of the Taliban spokesman and said: “The Taliban have trained suicide terrorist bombers, and have turned the country into a furnace of fire, whose fuel is the people of Afghanistan.”
Also earlier, on Wednesday, 31 August 2022, two people were killed and three others were wounded as a result of an explosion in the “Sar-e-Kotal Khair Khana” area in Kabul city. The spokesman of the Taliban Security Department in Kabul province said that this incident was caused by the explosion of a Corolla car that was transporting explosive materials. Still, public sources said that in this incident ten people were injured.
The city of Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province, has also witnessed bloody explosive and suicide attacks from time to time after the Taliban took control of the country. On Wednesday, 24 August 2022, an explosion occurred in the “Balkh Gate” area of the fourth security district of this city, as a result of which six people were injured. Mohammad Asif Waziri, the spokesman of the Taliban Security Department in Balkh province said that this incident happened when a person wanted to transport explosives into the city.
However, the increase and continuation of terrorist attacks in the capital and several other provinces have increasingly angered the citizens of the country. According to the citizens, so far, the Taliban are unable to provide security in the country, despite their promises, they have not been able to prevent suicide and explosive attacks even on mosques. After the Taliban regime took the control of the country, most of the explosions and suicide attacks targeted monasteries, mosques, religious areas, and public places.
Reactions to the Explosion
Yesterday’s explosion close to the Wazir Akbar Khan Mosque has caused intense reactions from the citizens, the United Nations, the United States Embassy, and several public figures in the country.
The Office of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) called yesterday’s suicide attack in Kabul a reminder of the insecurity and continuation of terrorist activities in Afghanistan. UNAMA published a newsletter and said: “Another bitter reminder of the insecurity and terrorist activities in Afghanistan; Today’s explosion outside one of the mosques in the center of Kabul the capital left many casualties and damages.”
Also, the United States Embassy for Afghanistan, which is currently operating from Qatar, has strongly condemned the attack on the lives of worshipers in Kabul. The United States Embassy in Qatar said that the attack on the lives of worshipers is a “barbaric and unjustifiable attack”. The embassy’s newsletter states “Such an attack against people who just practice their religion and beliefs is unjustifiable.”
Hamid Karzai, the former president of the country, has strongly condemned the explosion that occurred near the Wazir Akbar Khan Mosque in Kabul. Mr. Karzai has called this attack a “terrorist attack and in conflict with human and Islamic principles and values”. Also, Abdullah Abdullah, the former head of the Supreme National Reconciliation Council of the country, described this attack as “unforgivable and against human and Islamic principles and values.”, and he strongly condemned it.
This is even though after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, armed conflicts in the provinces have decreased, on the contrary, suicide and explosive attacks continue. Major cities of the country, including Kabul, witness bloody explosions from time to time. Most of the responsibility for these terrorist attacks is taken by the Khorasan branch of the ISIS group; A group whose physical existence in Afghanistan is denied by the Taliban.
The senior officials of the Russian government had estimated the number of ISIS members in Afghanistan to be around 2,000 before the fall of Kabul to the Taliban. However, Russian officials have reported that, after the Taliban’s control over Afghanistan, the number of ISIS fighters in the country has increased to 6,000. Yet, The ISIS group has not claimed responsibility for yesterday’s attack on the worshipers in Kabul.
Author: Amin Kawa – Senior Reporter and Analyst at Hasht-e Subh