KABUL – The death toll in an attack on former interior minister and vice-presidential candidate Amrullah Saleh’s political office in Kabul has climbed to 20, Afghanistan’s interior ministry said on Monday.
According to the ministry’s spokesman, the attack, which continued for six hours, left fifty people wounded.
At least four attackers were involved in the siege which started with a car bombing.
Former Interior Minister was in his office along with almost hundred people when the attack happened.
The Reuters news agency reported Saleh was hit by shrapnel before being safely evacuated from the office. Photographs shared by a government official showed Saleh sitting in a garden with bloodstains on his right arm. He was surrounded by security guards.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the veteran Afghan-American diplomat who is leading the US side in peace negotiations with the Taliban, condemned the latest attack.
The attack on Amrullah Saleh’s political party offices was grotesque and a clear act of terrorism. We condemn it in the strongest terms. The perpetrators should be brought to justice. We stand with #Afghanistan in the fight against terror.
— U.S. Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad (@US4AfghanPeace) July 29, 2019
“The attack on Amrullah Saleh’s political party offices was grotesque and a clear act of terrorism,” Khalilzad said on Twitter.
The incident occurred on the first day of campaigning for upcoming presidential elections. The vote is set to take place on September 28.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/pakistan-strongly-condemns-terrorist-attack-on-afghan-vp-candidates-office/
Besides conflict, Afghanistan is plagued by an array of problems like corruption, a lackluster economy, high unemployment and soaring crime.
