Kabul, July 1: The Taliban, Islamist militant group in Afghanistan, on Monday claimed the responsibility for a recent blast in Kabul, the Afghan capital, which was a part of an attack operated by Taliban militants targeting the Afghan defence ministry complex.
According to Al-Jazeera news reports, in a statement, a Taliban official said, “The target was the defense ministry’s technical installation,” adding the blast wounded many Taliban fighters, government employees, and civilians.
The blast has claimed the lives of 10 people and injured dozens of people. The blast took place morning hours in Kabul.
Interior ministry spokesperson Nasrat Rahimi said, “Gunmen have entered a building and they are clashing with the Afghan forces after the powerful blast.”
In a statement, Zabuhullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson, said the militant group’s fighters attacked the “logistics and engineering centres” of the Afghan defence ministry.
The statement further noted the explosion that took off near the defence ministry premise caused “heavy casualties to a number of civilian people”, but stated the target of the Taliban attack was military, not civilians.
The Afghan government, NGOs, and the United Nations (UN) have condemned the Taliban for causing the civilian casualties.
Kabul decried the terror attack over social media, several sharing pictures of injured children on their way to school.
Special Afghan security and police forces had isolated the area. According to health ministry spokesperson Wahidullah Mayar, around 68 people with nine children were taken immediately to hospitals.