Issued on:
A powerful blast followed by sporadic gunfire hit Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Tuesday near the city’s heavily fortified “Green Zone”, an area home to government buildings and foreign embassies, police officials said.
At least three people were killed and seven wounded, said Ghulam Dastagir Nazari, a health ministry spokesperson, adding that clashes were continuing.
A senior security official said the blast appeared to have been caused by a car bomb and the apparent target was the residence of a member of parliament.
Two gunmen were still in the area and clashing with Afghan security forces, the official said. Several homes belonging to Afghan officials, lawmakers and prominent residents were under siege in the continuing clashes, residents said.
The city’s Emergency Hospital said in a tweet it had so far received six people wounded in the attack.
No group immediately claimed responsibility.
Minutes after the blast hundreds of civilians in Kabul came out on to the streets and chanted Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest) to express their support for Afghan government forces and opposition to the Taliban.
The overnight march spilled across the city with mostly men and some women joining in the demonstrations, carrying candles and Afghan flags to signal united opposition to the hardline Islamist group.
“The whole world can choose to be silent about what is going on in Afghanistan but we can’t and won’t stay quiet anymore…we will stand side by side with our security forces until our last breath,” said a demonstrator in Kabul on condition of anonymity.
Anti-Taliban protest in western Herat
Last week residents in western Herat braved the streets despite nearby fighting to protest against the Taliban. Other cities quickly organised to join the chant from their homes in the evenings, as a message of support for embattled security forces.
Clashes between Afghan forces and the Taliban have intensified across the country with the insurgent group gaining control over check points, trading posts and infrastructure projects.
Afghan forces appealed to residents of the southern city of Lashkargah to leave their homes and stay away from areas where the Taliban were taking control, as they intend to launch operations against the group.
The Taliban said their fighters in Kabul killed a district governor of central Maidan Wardak province on Tuesday, the latest in a series of killings by the insurgent group aimed at eliminating senior government officials and social activists.
(REUTERS)
Stay connected with us on social media platform for instant update click here to join our Twitter, & Facebook
We are now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@TechiUpdate) and stay updated with the latest Technology headlines.
For all the latest Health News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
Denial of responsibility! NewsAzi is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.
