Kabul: At Least 7 Killed After Blast Near Mosque
On Friday, at least 7 people were killed and 41 wounded after a car bomb exploded near the Wazir Khan mosque in Kabul. The area was formerly the city’s “Green Zone” - containing foreign embassies and NATO - but is now under Taliban control.
Facts
- On Friday, at least 7 people were killed and 41 wounded after a car bomb exploded near the Wazir Khan mosque in Kabul. The area was formerly the city’s “Green Zone” - containing foreign embassies and NATO - but is now under Taliban control.
- A spokesman for the Taliban's Interior Ministry stated that the vehicle was parked by the roadside and the blast occurred when worshippers were leaving the mosque after ending Friday prayers.
- Since the Taliban seized power in 2021, this mosque has often been attended by its senior commanders and fighters. So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
- This is the latest bombing targeting religious locations and prominent clerics associated with the Taliban, with the self-proclaimed Islamic State Afghan branch, known as "Islamic State Khorasan Province" claiming some of them.
- Violence reportedly dropped in Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power, but similar attacks have been regular. Earlier in September, a suicide bombing outside the Russian embassy claimed the lives of two staff members.
- The mosque has been targeted in the past, even before the return of the Taliban. In June 2020, its imam was killed in a blast.
Sources: Al Jazeera, Washington Post, Alarabiya, VOA, Dawn, and Reuters.
Narratives
- Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Politico. The tragic attack in Kabul is just the latest example of how Afghanistan is drifting into chaos and lawlessness since the Taliban took over. These woes are exacerbated by the country's economic collapse and an acute food crisis. This bombing shows that the Taliban can't even protect its own internal security.
- Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Business Insider. Afghanistan only makes the headlines when it comes to violence and tragedy. More attention must be paid to the country's humanitarian catastrophe as Afghans are facing acute food insecurity. The West contributes to this by withholding Afghanistan's frozen reserve funds. This is a declaration of moral bankruptcy.
