Afghanistan: Seven killed in roadside blast in northern Afghanistan

Seven people were killed in a roadside blast in northern Afghanistan this week, marking the latest attack in the country. Among those who were killed were employees of a petroleum company.

A roadside blast in the northern Afghanistan city of Mazar-i-Sharif Tuesday resulted in seven dead, according to local officials. Among those who were killed were employees of a petroleum company riding a bus. It remains to be seen who would claim responsibility for the attack amidst pledges by the Taliban to bring security to Afghanistan since retaking control in August 2021.

“The bomb was placed on a cart by the roadside. It was detonated as the bus arrived,” said Asif Waziri of the Balkh police department.

This follows last month’s attack at a school in the city of Aymak, located in the Afghan province of Samangan, which is close to the Balkh province. At the time, 19 people were killed, and 24 others were wounded.

Back in May, a series of blasts that also took place in Mazar-i-Sharif resulted in nine people dead. Two others were killed in an attack at a mosque in the capital Kabul at the same time. The Taliban’s main rival, the Islamic State militant group, has claimed responsibility for the Mazar-i-Sharif attacks but not the incident in Kabul.

In October, four people were killed in a suicide bombing in a mosque near the Afghan interior ministry complex.

Last week, the Taliban-backed Afghan foreign ministry condemned the “assassination attempt” on the head of Pakistan’s mission in Afghanistan, Ubaid Ur Rehman Nizamani. The shooting came after the Pakistani government demanded the insurgent group prevent “terrorist” attacks that are coming from Afghan soil.

“IEA strongly condemns failed firing attack towards Pakistan embassy in Kabul & prays for the speedy recovery of a security guard. IEA will not allow any malicious actors to pose a threat to the security of diplomatic missions in Kabul,” tweeted spokesperson Abdul Qahar Balkhi.

The demand by the Pakistani government came as the Pakistani Taliban, also known as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, a group ideologically aligned with the Afghan Taliban, claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in southwestern Pakistan.

Pakistan has also blamed the Afghan Taliban for not doing enough to rein in armed fighters based in Afghanistan that stage attacks across the border the two countries share. The insurgent group has denied the allegations.