The Taliban have denied being involved in these attacks. The death toll from the bombings near a girls’ school in a district of Kabul, mostly populated by Hazara Shiites, now stands at 50, the Afghan Interior Ministry announced on Sunday (May 9th). Ministry spokesman Tareq Arian told reporters that a car bomb exploded the day before in front of Sayed Al-Shuhada school, and two more bombs exploded as panicked students rushed outside. He added that more than a hundred people were injured and most of the victims are female students.
The attack has not been claimed, but Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has accused the Taliban of being responsible. “The Taliban are behind these attacks. They have carried out similar attacks on schools in the past, ”said Tareq Arian. The explosions occurred in the Hazara neighborhood of Dasht-e-Barchi, in the western part of the Afghan capital, mostly populated by Hazara Shiites, often targeted by Sunni Islamist groups. It took place as its residents were shopping for the approach of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr which will mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan next week.
US, Europe call for resumption of negotiations
The attacks come as the US military continues to withdraw its remaining 2,500 troops from Afghanistan, leaving behind a country torn by 20 years of conflict. The day before, the United States and the Europeans called for an “immediate” and “without preconditions” resumption of negotiations in Afghanistan, accusing the Taliban of inflaming violence during the withdrawal of foreign forces and of blocking the peace process. .
The unprecedented direct negotiations between the government of Kabul and the Taliban began in September in Qatar but are stalling. A special conference was scheduled for the end of April in Turkey to relaunch them, but it had to be postponed sine die because of the refusal to participate of the Taliban to protest against the delay of the American withdrawal, initially set for May 1 by the former president. Donald Trump.
Since the start of the departure of foreign forces, intense clashes have been underway, especially in the southern province of Helmand. US planes helped repel a major Taliban offensive, which led to thousands of Afghans fleeing their homes to escape violence in the Lashkar Gah area.
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