Blast near the German embassy leaves more than 460 injured, Afghan interior ministry says

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A massive explosion in a highly secure diplomatic area of Kabul has killed at least 90 people and wounded more than 461, Afghan officials have said.

The attack is the deadliest in the Afghan capital since an Isis suicide bomber killed nearly 100 people at a protest last summer, and one of the largest to hit Kabul since the 2001 intervention. Most of the casualties are expected to be civilians.

The huge blast of a bomb hidden in a sewage tanker occurred close to the German embassy in the Wazir Akbar Khan area of the capital on Wednesday morning, sending clouds of black smoke spiralling into the sky near the presidential palace and foreign embassies.

It took place at the peak of Kabul’s rush hour when the streets were packed with commuters and just days into the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Witnesses described dozens of cars choking the roads as wounded survivors and panicked schoolchildren sought safety, with people struggling to get through security checkpoints to search for loved ones.

No group has claimed responsibility but both the Taliban and Isis have staged large-scale attacks in the city. The Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, condemned the attack. “The terrorists, even in the holy month of Ramadan, the month of goodness, blessing and prayer, are not stopping the killing of our innocent people,” he said in a statement.

On Wednesday evening, the country’s intelligence agency, the NDS, accused the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network, with Pakistani support, of being behind the attack.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Afghan men provide assistance to the wounded at the site of the car bomb attack in Kabul. Photograph: Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images

Basir Mujahid, a spokesman for Kabul police, said the bomb had struck close to the fortified entrance to the German embassy.

“It was a car bomb near the German embassy, but there are several other important compounds and offices near there too. It is hard to say what the exact target is,” Mujahid said.

The explosion site is on the road leading to the American embassy as well as the US and Nato military headquarters. It was unclear whether the attacker intended to target the German embassy or was perhaps stopped on the way to compounds further ahead, and detonated prematurely.



The German foreign minister, Sigmar Gabriel, said an Afghan security guard was killed in the blast and embassy employees wounded. He said all embassy workers were now safe and offered his condolences to the family of the slain guard.

The US Department of State said 11 American contractors working for the US embassy were injured. Eleven members of the Afghan national police and eight Afghan soldiers were among the dead.

The BBC said in a statement that one of its Afghan drivers, Mohammed Nazir, who was in his late 30s and had a young family, was killed in the blast. Four journalists were wounded and treated in hospital. Their injuries are not thought to be life threatening.

A French minister, Marielle de Sarnez, said its embassy had been damaged but it was not known if there were any French victims.

The attack was the deadliest to have apparently targeted government or diplomatic buildings in Kabul since a Taliban suicide bomber and gunman killed more than 60 in an attack on intelligence headquarters in April 2016.

Najib Danish, deputy spokesman for the Afghan interior ministry, said the blast was so large that more than 30 vehicles were either destroyed or damaged.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Security forces inspect the site of the attack. Photograph: Rahmat Gul/AP

While embassies and government buildings in the area are located behind fortified security walls, the road where the bomb detonated is open to the public. Connecting two main traffic circles, the strip is always busy with civilian pedestrians and drivers, particularly in the morning.

Houses hundreds of metres away from the explosion were damaged, with windows and doors blown off their hinges. Reports from journalists inside Kabul said the explosion shook their houses and shattered windows.

Jessica Donati (@jessdonati) Massive explosion just shattered all the windows and glass in our bureau #Kabul

Sune Engel Rasmussen (@SuneEngel) Explosion in Kabul 5 mins ago. Shook my house, but ppl across city say it sounded close. Could be big.

Images posted on social media showed a huge plume of smoke in the sky.

Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) #BREAKING: Massive explosion on the gate of the German mission in #Kabul. Damage caused to properties of Indian Embassy in #Afghanistan. pic.twitter.com/qZynPGZSNb

Shortly after the explosion, police had closed off the bomb site over a radius of a few hundred metres. Outside the police barrier, close to the Emergency hospital, bystanders assessed the damage.

Which insurgent groups are operating in Afghanistan? The two main violent groups in Afghanistan are the Taliban and a local affiliate of Islamic State (Isis).

The Taliban ruled Afghanistan for five years until 2001, when they were ousted by a US-led invasion for sheltering Osama bin Laden as he planned the 9/11 attacks. The Taliban denies directly targeting civilians, but regularly attacks non-combatants including journalists and legal workers. Hundreds of people have also been killed in violence triggered by the group. Isis only emerged in Afghanistan about three years ago. They have fewer fighters and a geographically smaller base, but seem well resourced and even more violent than the Taliban, who they periodically fight.

Entezar, a barber, said he was inside his shop when the explosion happened. “The whole window blew out,” he said, pointing to his facade.

The Taliban denied responsibility for the attack, although it came as the group is stepping up its annual “spring offensive”.



Self-declared Isis affiliates have also claimed responsibility for several recent bombings in the Afghan capital, including a powerful blast targeting an armoured Nato convoy that killed at least eight people and wounded 28 on 3 May.

The US secretary of defence, James Mattis, has warned of “another tough year” for both foreign troops and local forces in Afghanistan, where more than a third of the country is outside of government control.



The blast was the latest in a long line of attacks in the Afghan capital. Kabul province had the highest number of casualties in the first three months of 2017 due to multiple attacks in the city, with civilians bearing the brunt of the violence. </s> Taliban suicide bombers attacked the German consulate in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif in northern Afghanistan overnight, killing six people and wounding more than 120.

The German foreign minister said Friday that all consulate staff were safe and accounted for.

The militants stormed the diplomatic facility after using a powerful car bomb to ram into the compound.

The bomb-and-gun attack in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif left at least six civilians dead and wounded around 130 others, mostly civilians, according to hospital officials.

Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed his condolences to the victims. An official statement quoted him as saying that “all German and Afghan employees of the consulate remained unharmed.”

A group of heavily armed Taliban suicide bombers staged the coordinated attack shortly before midnight on Thursday, detonating an explosives-packed vehicle in the vicinity of German Consulate.

The massive blast blew apart a protective barrier around the consulate, shaking buildings and damaging more than 100 homes and shops around the diplomatic mission, said the U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) while condemning the violence.

It added that most of the injured suffered minor wounds from broken glass while those with serious injuries remain hospitalized.

“Attacks deliberately targeting the civilian population and violence aimed at spreading terror among civilians may amount to war crimes under customary international humanitarian law,” said UNAMA.

Taliban assailants fought their way into the building during an intense gun battle that lasted for hours before Afghan and NATO troops ended the siege and secured the building and evacuated consulate staff.

A spokesman for the Islamist insurgency in Afghanistan instantly claimed responsibility.

The Taliban said their assault was a “revenge attack” to retaliate for an airstrike earlier this month in neighboring Kunduz province. The insurgents said a bombing run by U.S. warplanes killed 32 civilians, including a number of children.

The airstrikes have triggered impassioned demonstrations in nearby Kunduz city, with victims’ relatives displaying mutilated bodies of dead children in a parade of trucks through the streets.

U.S. authorities are investigating the circumstances of the airstrike, but they have said it “very likely” was carried out by American warplanes. The air raid came after a Taliban assault that killed two American soldiers and three members of Afghan special forces.

Germany has 983 soldiers serving with NATO’s Resolute Support military mission in Afghanistan, most of them stationed in Balkh province, of which Mazar-i-Sharif is the capital.

The foreign coalition in a statement said it rapidly deployed its quick reaction force and assisted in efforts to safely evacuate all 21 staff members of the German consulate.

“This attack by the Taliban once again shows that they use violence indiscriminately and without regard for the safety of civilians,” said Lieutenant General Sandy Storrie, Deputy Commander of the NATO mission. </s> A suicide attack near the Defense Ministry in Kabul has killed at least four people and wounded 11, according to an Afghan official.

The attack Wednesday in the Pule Mahmoud Khan area of Kabul targeted an Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) vehicle, Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said.

Some civilians were among the casualties, he added.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The attack comes days after an apparent suicide bombing at the largest US base in the country, which just observed the 15th anniversary of operations against the war on terror. Four Americans were killed in the attack early Saturday at Bagram Airfield, US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said. Two of those killed were service members, and two were contractors, Carter said, adding he was "deeply saddened" by the news. Also last week, a suicide car bomb targeted the German consulate in Afghanistan's northern Balkh province on Thursday, local police and officials said. Four people were killed and more 100 were injured when the attack happened in Mazar-e-Sharif, the provincial capital, Balkh province spokesman Monir Ahmad Farhad said. No German diplomats were hurt. Opinion: 15 years on, we must not let Afghanistan slide backwards </s> KABUL – A suicide bomber blew himself up at a bank close to the heavily protected US embassy compound in the Afghan capital on Tuesday, killing at least four people and wounding several, the interior ministry said.

The bomber hit the entrance to a Kabul Bank branch in the well-off area of Kabul, close to the main diplomatic quarter, ministry spokesman Najib Danish said.

It was not immediately clear how many casualties had been caused by the explosion, which came as banks were busy with people withdrawing money ahead of the Muslim Eid holiday at the end of the week.

Danish said at least four people had been killed and three wounded while the public health ministry said separately that one dead and eight wounded had been brought to city hospitals.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. A spokesman for the Taliban, who are seeking to reimpose Islamic law after their 2001 ouster by US-led troops, said he was checking reports.

The latest in a long series of suicide attacks in Kabul highlight the danger in the Afghan capital, where 209 civilians were killed and 777 injured in the first half of the year alone, according to United Nations figures.

 President Ashraf Ghani’s government has started tightening security around the center of the city, where many of the most deadly attacks have taken place. </s> KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghan officials say a suicide bombing has killed at least five people in a busy commercial area in central Kabul, not far from the U.S. Embassy.

Basir Mujahid, spokesman for the Kabul police chief, says Tuesday’s explosion likely targeted a branch of the privately owned Kabul Bank. The U.S. Embassy compound is located about 500 meters (yards) down the road from the Kabul Bank.

Mohammad Salim Rasouli, chief of Kabul hospitals at the Health Ministry, confirmed that the attack also wounded nine people, according to initial reports.

No one claimed responsibility for the bombing, but the Taliban often target banks, especially at the end of the month when civil servants and military personnel line up to receive their salaries, or ahead of major Muslim holidays. </s> KABUL: At least 20 people were killed and wounded in a suicide attack in the Afghan capital Kabul on Thursday, interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said.

Officials said the bomber blew himself up after approaching a group of security personnel who had been conducting an operation against illegal drugs and alcohol sales in an area of Kabul not far from the U.S. embassy. </s> A suicide bomber has rammed a truck into the German consulate in the Afghan city of Mazar-e-Sharif, killing at least two people, officials say.

 Reports described a huge blast at the diplomatic mission followed by gunfire.

 A hospital official said more than 80 people were hurt in the attack, which happened around 23:00 (18:30 GMT).

 The Taliban says it carried out the attack in response to coalition air strikes earlier this month in Kunduz which killed civilians.

 Nato is investigating the incident in the northern city, which happened when Afghan troops surrounded by Taliban militants called in air support.

 Thirty civilians died in the fighting, many of them in the air strikes, local officials said.

 The German diplomatic mission is in a walled compound in the centre of Mazar-e-Sharif, the capital of Balkh province.

 Germany has nearly 1,000 troops in Afghanistan, most of them in Balkh province.

 A Nato spokesman said there was "massive damage" to the consulate. Nato troops were on site and preparing to evacuate its personnel.

 At least one car packed with explosives was rammed into the wall surrounding the compound, the spokesman said. Officials were also investigating whether a second car bomb was involved.

 Reports on social media said helicopters were flying over the compound and ambulances rushing through the city.

 The attack comes amid a worsening security situation in Afghanistan. Taliban militants came close to over-running Kunduz in October before being driven back, according to BBC News.

 ZR </s> KABUL, Afghanistan -- Germany's consulate in northern Afghanistan was attacked when a suicide car bomber rammed the compound, killing six people and wounding more than 120, Afghan police and the German foreign minister said Friday.

Four of the dead -- two civilians and two unidentified bodies -- were taken to the Balkh hospital, said Dr. Noor Mohammad Faiz. He said 128 people were wounded in the attack.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said six people had been confirmed dead. He added in a statement that "all German and Afghan employees of the consulate remained unharmed."

The car exploded at the gate of the consulate in the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, destroying the gate and wall around 11:10 p.m. Thursday, said Abdul Raziq Qaderi, head of security for Balkh province.

The blast destroyed the Mazar Hotel, where the consulate is based, and surrounding buildings. Residents said casualties were contained because of the late hour, though an ensuing gunbattle raged for about five hours.

Steinmeier said fighting took place "on the premises and inside the consulate."

The attack was carried out "by heavily armed terrorists," he said, adding: "The attackers were fought off by the consulate's security personnel, Afghan security forces, and German, Georgian, Belgian and Latvian special forces stationed in the city as part of the Resolute Support mission."

President Ashraf Ghani called the attack a "crime against humanity and all international laws."

The United Nations' assistance mission in Afghanistan also condemned the attack. In a statement, it said the injured include 19 women and 38 children.

"Most of the injured suffered minor wounds from broken glass while those with serious injuries remain hospitalized," it said. More than 100 homes and shops were damaged, it said.

Germany has 983 soldiers stationed in Afghanistan, most of them in Balkh province, as part of the NATO mission. Mazar-i-Sharif is the provincial capital and one of the richest and most important cities in Afghanistan.

The Taliban's insurgency has spread from their southern heartland across the country in the past two years, after the withdrawal of most international combat troops. Attacks across the north have been increasing.

The Taliban statement from spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the attack was retaliation for recent airstrikes in the northern city of Kunduz, capital of the province of the same name.

A U.S. airstrike early this month killed dozens of people and is under investigation.

Information for this article was contributed by Lynne O'Donnell, Karim Sharifi and Geir Moulson of The Associated Press. </s> A suicide bombing near the U.S. embassy in Kabul on Wednesday killed four people and wounded at least 22, Afghan officials said, in an attack on a convoy of armoured personnel carriers used by the NATO-led Resolute Support mission. The blast hit the NATO coalition convoy during the morning rush hour in one of the busiest areas of Kabul.

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A suicide bombing occurs in Kabul near the German embassy with at least 90 killed and 461 injured.