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Taliban fighters verify the positioning of an explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Jan. 1.Ebrahim Noroozi/The Related Press
The Islamic State group claimed accountability for a bombing close to a checkpoint on the Afghan capital’s army airport that killed and wounded a number of individuals.
IS stated in a press release late Tuesday that Sunday’s assault on the checkpoint in Kabul was carried out by the identical member who took half in an assault on a lodge within the capital in mid-December.
The regional affiliate of the Islamic State group – referred to as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province and a key rival of the Taliban – has elevated its assaults in Afghanistan for the reason that Taliban takeover in 2021. Targets have included Taliban patrols and members of Afghanistan’s Shiite minority.
IS printed a photograph of the attacker figuring out him as Abdul Jabbar, saying he withdrew safely from the assault on the lodge after he ran out of ammunition. It added he detonated his explosives-laden vest focusing on the troopers gathered on the checkpoint.
The army airport is round 200 meters (yards) from the civilian airport and near the Inside Ministry, itself the positioning of a suicide bombing final October that killed not less than 4 individuals.
Abdul Nafi Takor, a spokesman on the Taliban-run Inside Ministry, stated the explosion left “a number of” individuals lifeless and wounded, with out offering figures or additional data. He stated particulars of an investigation will probably be shared later.
Takor and Khalid Zadran, spokesman for the Kabul police chief, didn’t reply to requests on Wednesday asking for additional remark.
The checkpoint – situated on Airport Street, which results in high-security neighbourhoods housing authorities ministries, international embassies and the presidential palace – appeared broken however intact.
Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesman for the Taliban authorities, stated not less than seven IS members had been killed throughout a Taliban operation in Kabul on Wednesday. He added that seven IS fighters had been arrested from their hideout within the neighbourhood of Shahdai Salehin.
A separate operation in western Nimroz province resulted in two extra IS arrests, Mujahid stated. Native residents from the realm reported sounds of a number of explosions and an hours-long gun battle. No different particulars had been instantly accessible.