WORLD_ Dozens killed in suicide bomber’s attack at Afghanistan bank

The Washington Post

Dozens killed in suicide bomber’s attack at Afghanistan bank

Photo: Policemen keep watch at a site after a third explosion in Jalalabad. (Parwiz/Reuters)

By Sudarsan Raghavan
April 18 at 6:35 AM

KABUL — The Islamic State’s regional branch has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday that killed at least 33 people and injured more than 100, according to a statement believed to have been sent by the Syria and Iraq-based movement.

The claim could not be independently verified. But if true, it would mark the first time that the Islamic State, also known as Daesh, has claimed to be behind a violent assault in Afghanistan.

The statement — from ISIS Wilayat Khorasan — sent to local reporters named the suicide bomber and included the photograph of a man with scarf covering his face and a Kalashnikov rifle by his side. In the background is the black Islamic State flag.

The Islamic State announced its intention to expand to Afghanistan and Pakistan, and refers to the region as “Khorasan.”

The assault Saturday in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, was one of three separate blasts that unfolded at about 8.30 am around the city, said police officials, adding that the other two did not kill anyone. The Islamic State did not claim responsibility for the other two blasts.

It was the latest in a string of assaults to target the area in the past two weeks.

The suicide bomber detonated an vest filled with explosives outside New Kabul bank where Afghan government workers, including police officers and soldiers, waited in line to collect paychecks, said police officials.

“The suicide bomber was on foot and wanted to get inside the bank when he detonated his explosives,” said Hazrat Hussain Mashreqiwal, the police spokesman for Nangarhar Province.

While police officials placed the toll at 22 dead and 50 wounded, hospitals had received at least 33 bodies, said Najeeb Kamawal, the head of the province’s public health ministry. More than 100 people were wounded, he added. Many were in critical condition, suggesting that the death toll could rise.

Suspicion immediately fell on the Taliban insurgency, but group’s spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid denied responsibility for any of the explosions. In a tweet, he said “we condemn/deny involvement.”

The second explosion, said Mashreqiwal, was from a bomb that exploded outside of a shrine. A third bomb that was found unexploded outside the National Bank of Afghanistan, and police later detonated it in a controlled environment.

A fourth explosion took place in the Behshood District of the province, when a small magnetic bomb killed one and wounded two others, added Mashreqiwal.

Saturday’s bombing in Jalalabad was the third deadly attack in the city since April 8, when an Afghan in military uniform killed an American soldier and wounded several others in a suspected insider attack. That assault also killed an Afghan soldier and wounded two others. Two days later, a suicide bomber targeted a U.S. military convoy, killing four Afghan civilians and wounding 10 others. There were no U.S. casualties.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) condemned Saturday’s deadly attack, and declared that it could constitute a war crime.

“The continuing use of suicide attacks in densely populated areas that are certain to kill and maim large numbers of Afghan civilians,may amount to a war crime,” said Nicholas Haysom, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA. “Those responsible for this horrendous crime must be held accountable.”

Neighboring Pakistan also quickly denounced the violence and expressed condolences to the victims — the latest sign of the growing cordiality between Kabul and Islamabad. Gen. Sher Muhammad Karimi, the Afghanistan’s army chief, is currently in Pakistan meeting his counterparts to discuss border security, among other issues. Afghan officials are increasingly concerned about foreign fighters who have fled a Pakistan military offensive and have sought sanctuary in Afghanistan.

The Taliban and other militants have escalated attacks in recent weeks, as they enter their traditional spring offensive. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and other officials have warned that the nation is in for a difficult spring and summer fighting the insurgency. That concern helped persuade President Obama to slow down the drawdown of roughly 10,000 U.S. military personnel remaining in the country.

Saturday’s attack was not the first to strike Kabul Bank in Jalalabad. In 2001, a group of suicide bombers targeted the same branch, killing 38 customers who were also waiting to pick up paychecks.

Today's coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Sudarsan Raghavan has been The Post's Kabul bureau chief since 2014. He was previously based in Nairobi and Baghdad for the Post.

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