Afghanistan: Seven injured in blast that hit bus carrying Taliban administration employees

A blast in Afghanistan’s capital of Kabul hit a bus with employees of the Taliban government. Seven were injured in the incident, considered to be one of the latest attacks in urban areas in recent months.

A spokesperson for Kabul’s police Khalid Zadran said Wednesday that a bus was hit by a blast in the country’s capital, injuring seven people. Zadran added that the blast was caused by a roadside mine. It remains to be seen who was responsible for the blast.

“Due to a blast on a mini bus from the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, seven have been injured,” said Zadran.

The incident this week is the latest of multiple attacks that have taken place in urban areas in recent months. Last month, armed gunmen attacked a vehicle in the province of Herat in western Afghanistan, with the attack claimed by the Islamic State militant group. Five medical personnel were killed in the attack at the time, and several others were injured, according to the insurgent group’s defense ministry spokesperson Enayatullah Khowrazmi.

Another attack took place in Herat, with a large blast hitting a mosque back in September, which killed 18 people, including a pro-Taliban cleric. In July, two security force members were killed in an attack on an Al-Farooq 207 Corps vehicle.

Since retaking control of the country back in 2021, the Taliban previously said they are focusing on Afghanistan’s security. However, the United Nations warned of the deteriorating security in the country even as foreign forces withdrew from Afghanistan in August last year.

Early this week, judges at the International Criminal Court in the Hague ruled Monday that prosecutor Karim Khan can resume his probe into the alleged atrocities committed in Afghanistan in an investigation that was placed on hold for two years. In the ruling published by the judges of the ICC, the investigation can proceed as Afghanistan “is not presently carrying out genuine investigations” into the alleged crimes that fall under the international court’s jurisdiction.

Back in August, Khan urged the judges to allow the probe to move forward, warning that crimes continued to be committed in Afghanistan.