IS attack on Afghan Hazara protesters kills 80

Shia Hazaras were taking out a rally, demanding that a multi-million dollar power line pass through their electricity-starved Bamiyan Province.

July 23, 2016 04:16 pm | Updated December 04, 2021 11:03 pm IST - Kabul

At least 80 people were killed and another 231 wounded in the Afghan capital on Saturday, when a suicide bomber detonated explosives among a large crowd of demonstrators, the Interior Ministry said.

In a statement issued by its news agency, Aamaq, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack on the march taken out by Afghanistan’s ethnic Hazaras. They were demanding that a major regional electric power line be routed through their impoverished home province.

The government had received intelligence that an attack could take place, and warned the organisers, Haroon Chakhansuri, a spokesman for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, said.

The wounded overwhelmed city hospitals, officials said, with reports emerging of blood shortages and urgent appeals for donors circulating on social media.

The Taliban, who are in the middle of their annual summer offensive and are more powerful than the IS group, strongly denied any involvement in the attack.

It appears to be the single deadliest attack in Kabul to be claimed by IS jihadists, who are making steady inroads in the country, challenging the Taliban on their own turf.

The attack came as thousands of demonstrators gathered to demand that a multi-million-dollar power line pass through their electricity-starved province of Bamiyan, one of the most deprived areas of Afghanistan with a large Hazara population.

'Horrific attack'

"The horrific attack on a group of peaceful protestors in Kabul demonstrates the utter disregard that armed groups have for human life," Amnesty International said in a statement.

"Such attacks are a reminder that the conflict in Afghanistan is not winding down, as some believe, but escalating, with consequences for the human rights situation in the country that should alarm us all."

In a statement, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he was "deeply saddened" by the carnage, adding that the casualties included security officials.

"Holding protests is the right of every citizen of Afghanistan and the government puts all efforts to provide security for the protestors, but terrorists entered the protests, and carried out explosions that martyred and wounded a number of citizens including members of security forces," the presidential palace said.

The protest march was largely peaceful before the explosions struck as the demonstrators sought to march on the presidential palace, waving flags and chanting slogans such as "death to discrimination".

The 500-kilovolt TUTAP power line, which would connect the Central Asian nations of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan with electricity-hungry Afghanistan and Pakistan, was originally set to pass through the central province.

But the government re-routed it through the mountainous Salang pass north of Kabul, saying the shorter route would speed up the project and save millions of dollars.

Hazara leaders in the ethnically divided nation lashed out at the Pashtun president, calling the decision prejudiced against the Hazaras, a community that has suffered a long history of oppression.

The three million-strong Hazara community has been persecuted for decades, with thousands killed in the late 1990s by Al-Qaeda and the mainly Pashtun Sunni Taliban.

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.