Six members of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s honour guard were wounded on Tuesday when a rocket struck his palace compound, officials said.
The rocket was one of a salvo launched into central Kabul just as officials were gathering in the capital to commemorate Afghanistan’s 101 independence day.
Mr. Ghani had finished speaking outside the famous Arg Palace to mark the event when a rocket landed in the sprawling compound and wounded six members of his honour guard, two palace officials said. The President had already wrapped up his ceremonial duties and was not affected.
Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian earlier said 14 rockets were fired out of two vehicles in the capital, mostly hitting civilian homes, injuring 10, including four children.
Mortar shells strike Kabul as Afghans mark Independence Day
Several mortar shells slammed into various part of Kabul on Tuesday morning, wounding at least 10 civilians as Afghans marked their country’s Independence Day amid new uncertainties over the start of talks between the Taliban and the Kabul government. No militant group responsibility for the attack.
The Interior Ministry’s spokesman, Tariq Arian, said a total of 14 mortar shells were fired from two vehicles in the northern and eastern part of the Afghan capital. Four children were among the wounded.
Most of the mortar shells hit residential houses, Mr. Arian said, adding that an investigation is underway.
According to eyewitnesses, who spoke on condition of anonymity fearing reprisals, at least one mortar shell landed in the upscale Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood, where diplomats and senior government officials reside.
The attack came a day after the government said it would not release the last 320 Taliban prisoners it holds until the insurgents free more captured Afghan soldiers. The decision went against that of a traditional Afghan council held earlier this month — the Loya Jirga — and is likely to further delay intra-Afghan peace talks sought by the United States.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said he wasn’t aware of the mortar attack in Kabul. The Islamic State group’s affiliate, which operates in Afghanistan, has interrupted national celebrations in the past with rocket fire.
Also on Tuesday morning, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani attended an Independence Day ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Kabul, inspecting an honour guard and laying flowers on the Independence Minaret monument there.
( With inputs from PTI )
