MNA International Desk: At least 80 people were killed and 230 injured when suicide bombers attacked a large demonstration in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Saturday.
The protest was prearranged by ethnic Hazaras demanding that a major regional power line be rerouted through their needy home province. Most Hazaras are Shiite Muslims but most Afghans are Sunni.
The Islamic State, also known as ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, saying in a statement on its Amaq News Agency that two of its fighters exploded explosive belts.
“Two fighters from Islamic State detonated explosive belts at a gathering of Shiites in the city of Kabul in Afghanistan.” IS’s Amaq news agency reported.
Presidential spokesman Haroon Chakhansuri told to media that one of the suicide bombers was shot by the police. He also claimed that three city district police chiefs on duty at the square were injured and another three security officers were killed.
The U.S. State Department issued a statement saying it “condemns in the strongest terms” the “vicious attack.”
“The killers responsible for this bloodshed do not represent the future for Afghanistan and will not prevail. Attacks like these only strengthen our resolve to continue our mission in Afghanistan and deepen our support for the people and government there.” the statement said.
The previous Afghan government changed the route in 2013. Protest leaders have said that the rerouting was evidence of bias against the Hazara community, which accounts for up to 15% of Afghanistan’s estimated 30 million people.
However, Mohammad Ismail Kawousi, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health, said that the dead and injured had been taken to nearby hospitals, adding that the toll could rise further.
The attack is said to be the single lethal attack in Kabul to be claimed by IS, who are making stable inroads in the country and challenging the Taliban on their own turf.
President Ashraf Ghani promised “revenge” against the committers of the attack and announced Sunday as a national day of mourning.
“Opportunist terrorists went among the protestors and set off explosions that killed and wounded a number of our countrymen including security and defense personnel.” Mr. Ghani said.
The Government has declared a prohibition on public protests for at least 10 days after Saturday’s demonstration, which was quiet before the explosions.
The occurrence comes closely three weeks after a suicide bomber killed dozens of people in an attack on afresh graduated police cadets that was claimed by the Taliban.