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Multiple casualties in blast near Afghan military airport in Kabul

Sunday, 01 January 2023 10:59 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 01 January 2023 11:05 AM ]

The file photo shows smoke billowing from the site of an explosion in the Afghan capital of Kabul.

A huge explosion has targeted the entrance to a military airfield in the Afghan capital of Kabul, with reports saying the blast left an unspecified number of people dead or wounded.

Abdul Nafy Takor, a spokesman for the Taliban government’s interior ministry, said the explosion took place at the gate of the facility next to Kabul's International Airport on Sunday morning and that the cause of the incident was unclear.

"A number of our compatriots have been martyred and wounded in the blast," Takor said, adding that authorities were investigating the explosion in the vicinity of the military side of the heavily fortified airport.

Afghanistan's TOLO news agency cited an eyewitness as saying, “The incident happened at around 08:00 am. There were civilian casualties. Some people were wounded. But officials arrived and took action.”

No group or individual has so far claimed responsibility for the deadly incident, the first in Afghanistan in 2023.

The Taliban came to power shortly after the US-led allied forces made a chaotic and humiliating retreat from Afghanistan following two decades of military adventure in the country.

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The Taliban has largely failed to bring security as deadly explosions and acts of terror targeting civilians remain a recurrent theme of daily life in the wake of the group's return to power. Daesh has claimed responsibility for most of the terrorist operations.

In September, at least 54 people, including 51 young women and girls, were killed in a bombing at a hall in Kabul, where students were taking a science test for university entrance. No group claimed responsibility for the bombing, but the Taliban later blamed Daesh and said it had killed several key figures linked to the blast.

In May 2021, at least 85 people, most of whom girls, were killed and about 300 others injured in three bomb blasts near their school.

Since the Taliban took control, their non-recognition by the international community, along with the sanctions imposed on the central bank and the freezing of Afghan assets, has driven the economy to the brink of collapse.

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