A Taliban official said that a bomb went off near a checkpoint at Kabul’s military airport on Sunday morning, killing and injuring “several” people. This was Afghanistan’s first deadly explosion of 2023.
Although no one has yet claimed responsibility, Islamic State in Khorasan Province, the group’s regional offshoot, has stepped up its attacks after the Taliban took over in 2021. The Shiite minority in Afghanistan and Taliban patrols have both been the targets of these attacks.
The military airport is about 200 meters from the civilian airport and close to the Interior Ministry, where a suicide bombing killed at least four people last October.
Abdul Nafi Takoor, Taliban's spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, confirmed that an #explosion took place at the first gate of the #Kabul_Military_Airport, as a result of which a number of people have been killed and wouned. No more details released yet.
— Afghan Analyst (@AfghanAnalyst2) January 1, 2023
Video and photo: Copy pic.twitter.com/COGEC8Vy4N
According to Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor, the bombing, which occurred near a checkpoint at Kabul’s military airport, resulted in multiple casualties.
However, no exact figures or further details about the attack have been released at this time. Takor stated that information about the ongoing investigation will be shared at a later point.
Taliban security forces kept photographers and camera crews away from the blast site, but the checkpoint, located on Airport Road, was reportedly undamaged despite the explosion. This road leads to high-security areas in the city, which are home to government agencies, foreign embassies, and the presidential palace.
Unfortunately, a spokesperson for the Kabul police chief, Khalid Zadran, could not be reached for comment at this time.
Image Credit: Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images
