Afghanistan's capital Kabul has been ravaged by terrorist activities for decades, and today, the city suffered another horrific terror attack when a car bomb exploded in the diplomatic area. The attack, thought to be one of the worst to have taken place in Afghanistan in recent years, killed 90 people and injured around 400.
Attack in a protected area
Diplomatic areas, like Zanbaq Square in Kabul, are policed heavily in order to ensure complete safety. Hence, the most worrying thing about this attack is the fact that it took place in an area that is considered to be heavily guarded and policed at all times.
The bomb went off in the morning (at 8:25 am) during the busiest time of the day when commuters were making their way to their places of work, and, according to reports, the bomb was a powerful one. It created huge craters in the road and damaged windows in the area. The Turkish, French, German and British embassies are the closest ones to Zanbar Square, the Blast site. No diplomats or foreign embassy personnel were hurt in the attack. Most reports suggest that the majority of the casualties were civilians. Not many ambulances could be summoned to the area but makeshift ones took the dead and injured to nearby hospitals for treatment.
No inkling about the responsible parties
The dreaded Taliban is almost always the prime suspect whenever something of this sort happens in Afghanistan but the group denied any involvement in the attack soon after the incident took place.
Another prime suspect, as is the case these days, is ISIS, but they have not claimed responsibility for the attack either. Usually, ISIS are quick to claim responsibility for atrocities committed by their terrorists through their online channels. It has been reported that the explosives -- around 1500 kilograms worth -- was loaded in a truck in the vicinity of Zanbar Square.
However, the question remains, how a truck could make its way into an area that is so heavily policed.
The investigations into the attack are surely going to continue, but local police personnel, who spoke to Reuters, stated that the Kabul Police are still not sure about the actual target of the bomb. The blast is one of the worst to have taken place in Kabul. A shop keeper who witnessed the scenes, said, "I have never seen such a terrible explosion in my life."
More details are likely to be revealed as the investigation continues into this tragic event.
