Smoke rises after a bomb attack at Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood of Kabul, Afghanistan, May 31, 2017. Dozens of people were killed and hundreds wounded as a massive blast ripped through Kabul’s highly secure diplomatic quarter.
Afghan officials inspect outside the German embassy after a blast in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 31, 2017.
Afghan policemen inspect at the site of a blast in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 31, 2017.
Roshan mobile company employees leave the site of a suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 31, 2017.
An Afghan man reacts at the site of a car bomb blast in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 31, 2017.
An Afghan policeman walks past a damaged vehicle after a car bomb blast in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 31, 2017.
Afghan security forces personnel are seen at the site of a car bomb attack in Kabul, May 31, 2017. Dozens of people were killed and hundreds wounded as a massive blast ripped through Kabul’s highly secure diplomatic quarter, sending a huge plume of smoke over the Afghan capital. People who were injured in a suicide bomb attack receive first aid at the scene of attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, 31 May 2017. Damaged cars are seen at the site of a car bomb blast in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 31, 2017.
Security forces tow the wreckage of car near the site of a car bomb attack, close to the German Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 31, 2017. Relatives of victims listen to hospital officials after a massive explosion rocked a highly secure diplomatic area of Kabul, Afghanistan, May 31, 2017.
KABUL, May 31 (Reuters) – A powerful bomb hidden in a sewage tanker exploded in the morning rush hour in the center of the Afghan capital on Wednesday, police said, killing at least 80 people, wounding hundreds and damaging embassy buildings. The victims appeared mainly to have been Afghan civilians.
The bomb, one of the deadliest in Kabul and coming at the start of the holy month of Ramadan, exploded close to the fortified entrance to the German embassy, killing a security guard and wounding some staff, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Twitter. “Such attacks do not change our resolve in continuing to support the Afghan government in the stabilization of the country,” he said.
Basir Mujahid, a spokesman for city police, said the explosives were hidden in a sewage tanker. He suggested that the German embassy might not have been the target of the blast, which sent clouds of black smoke into the sky near the presidential palace.
“There are several other important compounds and offices near there too,” he told Reuters. The blast, which shattered windows and blew doors off their hinges in houses hundreds of meters away, was unusually strong. The Taliban, seeking to reimpose Islamic rule after their 2001 ouster by U.S.-led forces, denied responsibility and said they condemned attacks that have no legitimate target and killed civilians.
Islamic State, the other main militant group active in Afghanistan, has carried out high profile attacks in Kabul, including an attack on a military hospital in March that killed more than 50 people.
The NATO-led Resolute Support (RS) mission in Kabul said Afghan security forces prevented the vehicle carrying the bomb from entering the heavily protected Green Zone that houses many foreign embassies as well as its headquarters, also suggesting it may not have reached its intended target. A public health official said at least 80 people had been killed and more than 350 wounded. Germany canceled a planned flight deporting migrants to Afghanistan after the blast, its ARD broadcaster said, citing the interior minister. Germany began carrying out group deportations of Afghans in December, seeking to show it is tackling the high number of migrants by getting rid of those who do not qualify as refugees.
The French, Turkish and Chinese embassies were among those damaged, the three countries said, adding there were no immediate signs of injuries among their diplomats. The BBC said one of its drivers, an Afghan, was killed driving journalists to work. Four journalists were wounded and treated in hospital.
Video shot at the scene showed burning debris, crumbled walls and buildings, and destroyed cars, many with dead or injured people inside.
For Nation shall rise against Nation, and Kingdom against Kingdom and there shall be famines and pestilences, and Earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Matt.24:7-8