Twin Bombings Tear Through Afghan Shi'ite Holy Day
On the holiest day of the Shi'ite Muslim calendar, two terrorist bomb attacks in Afghanistan apparently targeting Shi'ite worshippers have killed nearly 60 people. The attacks come less than 24 hours after the conclusion of a major international conference in Germany on ways to stabilize Afghanistan.
Ambulances rushed to the scene of the bombing in central Kabul Tuesday, where a suicide bomb created a scene of carnage outside a Shi'ite shrine.
Women and children are among the dead. More than 100 were wounded by the blast, taking place on Ashura, the holiest day of the Shiite religious calendar. A second explosion targeted a shrine in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, killing four people.
This woman in Kabul holds the bloodstained shoe of her murdered son, in his early 20s, and cries out "I only had one son."
General Mohammad Ayoub Salangi, the Kabul police chief, says one religious ceremony was about to finish, and a new group of worshippers was arriving. The suicide attack took place in the midst of the new group, he explains.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, still in Germany following Monday's international conference on Afghanistan, condemned the attacks.
"This is the first time that on such an important religious day in Afghanistan, terrorism of that horrible nature is taking place," said Karzai. "We all wish the best for those who are injured and quick recovery and patience to the families of those who have lost their dear ones."
A day earlier, Karzai was in Bonn, urging representatives of more than 100 nations to commit resources to Afghanistan's peace process.
General John Allen, the commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, said the attack were "the latest example of insurgents’ blatant disregard for human life... This killing of Afghans, by Afghans," he says in a statement, "must come to an end.”
The Taliban released a statement saying it did not plan the attacks, calling them "cruel and indiscriminate" and blaming them on the "invading enemy."
But International Crisis Group Security Analyst Candace Rondeaux says the attacks may set a worrying precedent.
"I think it sends a message that certainly the Taliban and/or other insurgent groups may be turning more toward a sectarian approach to its strategy - targeting very specific groups, and that is extremely troubling," said Rondeaux.
Experts say the attack, which took place in a relatively secure sector of Kabul, underscores the importance of what was agreed in Bonn - that all countries in the region need cooperate in securing long term stability for Afghanistan
Major Kabul Attacks This Year
•October 29: Suicide car bomber hits NATO bus, killing 13 NATO troops and at least four Afghans
•September 20: Insurgent with bomb hidden in his turban kills former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani
•September 13: Taliban attack on U.S. Embassy, NATO headquarters and other buildings kills 16 Afghans
•August 19: Taliban attackers kill nine Afghans during day-long siege of Britain's cultural center
•June 29: Taliban suicide bombers and fighters storm InterContinental Hotel, killing 12 people
fuente: La Voz de América, http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Suicide-Bombing-Kills-52-at-Shiite-Shrine-in-Afghan-Capital-135095853.html
Ambulances rushed to the scene of the bombing in central Kabul Tuesday, where a suicide bomb created a scene of carnage outside a Shi'ite shrine.
Women and children are among the dead. More than 100 were wounded by the blast, taking place on Ashura, the holiest day of the Shiite religious calendar. A second explosion targeted a shrine in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, killing four people.
This woman in Kabul holds the bloodstained shoe of her murdered son, in his early 20s, and cries out "I only had one son."
General Mohammad Ayoub Salangi, the Kabul police chief, says one religious ceremony was about to finish, and a new group of worshippers was arriving. The suicide attack took place in the midst of the new group, he explains.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, still in Germany following Monday's international conference on Afghanistan, condemned the attacks.
"This is the first time that on such an important religious day in Afghanistan, terrorism of that horrible nature is taking place," said Karzai. "We all wish the best for those who are injured and quick recovery and patience to the families of those who have lost their dear ones."
A day earlier, Karzai was in Bonn, urging representatives of more than 100 nations to commit resources to Afghanistan's peace process.
General John Allen, the commander of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, said the attack were "the latest example of insurgents’ blatant disregard for human life... This killing of Afghans, by Afghans," he says in a statement, "must come to an end.”
The Taliban released a statement saying it did not plan the attacks, calling them "cruel and indiscriminate" and blaming them on the "invading enemy."
But International Crisis Group Security Analyst Candace Rondeaux says the attacks may set a worrying precedent.
"I think it sends a message that certainly the Taliban and/or other insurgent groups may be turning more toward a sectarian approach to its strategy - targeting very specific groups, and that is extremely troubling," said Rondeaux.
Experts say the attack, which took place in a relatively secure sector of Kabul, underscores the importance of what was agreed in Bonn - that all countries in the region need cooperate in securing long term stability for Afghanistan
Major Kabul Attacks This Year
•October 29: Suicide car bomber hits NATO bus, killing 13 NATO troops and at least four Afghans
•September 20: Insurgent with bomb hidden in his turban kills former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani
•September 13: Taliban attack on U.S. Embassy, NATO headquarters and other buildings kills 16 Afghans
•August 19: Taliban attackers kill nine Afghans during day-long siege of Britain's cultural center
•June 29: Taliban suicide bombers and fighters storm InterContinental Hotel, killing 12 people
fuente: La Voz de América, http://www.voanews.com/english/news/Suicide-Bombing-Kills-52-at-Shiite-Shrine-in-Afghan-Capital-135095853.html
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