The 2007 Baghlan sugar factory bombing occurred on November 6, 2007, when a

bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

exploded in the centre of Baghlan,

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, while a delegation of parliamentarians was visiting, killing at least 72 people including several lawmakers.

The event

The parliamentarians' visit had coincided with a ceremony to re-open a sugar factory as part of plans to improve the economy in the northeastern

Baghlan province Baghlan ( Dari and ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan and located in northeastern Afghanistan. As of 2020, the province has a population of about 1,014,634. Its capital is Puli Khumri, but its name comes from the other major town in t ...

. Large groups of people, including children and elderly people were lined up to assist in the inauguration of the facility. It is widely believed that the blast was caused by a bomb full of ball-bearings. It is unlikely that a suicide attacker could cause such a massive carnage.

Fatalities

At least 75 people were killed or wounded severely in the massive bombing; the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

reports that 64 were killed while a hospital in Baghlan mentioned that 90 bodies were sent to the hospital with 50 others wounded. An Afghan television station reported that at least 100 were killed.CTV.ca , Bombs targeting Afghan lawmakers kill dozens
/ref> Six members of the Afghan parliament were killed in the blast, including key opposition figures. The lawmakers killed in the bombing were former Commerce Minister

Sayed Mustafa Kazemi Sayed Mustafa Kazemi (, 1959 – November 6, 2007) from Parwan was a prominent Afghan politician. He was one of the leaders and the spokesman for the opposition movement known as the United National Front. He was a former minister of commerce ...

, the prominent private sector representative Hajji Muhammad Arif Zarif, as well as Abdul Mateen, Al Hajj Sahib Abdul-Rahman, Nazuk Mir Sarfaraz and Sebghatullah Zaki. All six were members of the ten-member Economics Committee of the National Assembly. It was reported that police officers, children and members of the Department of Agriculture were also killed. Other MPs were said to have been injured.BBC NEWS , South Asia , Afghan suicide blast 'kills 40'
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Responsibility

There was no claim of responsibility for the blast but there were about 120 suicide attacks in Afghanistan in 2007, most of them blamed on the

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

movement. A spokesperson for the Interior Ministry blamed the attack on "the enemy of Afghanistan, the enemy of the people of Afghanistan" referring to the militant group. Following the bombing, a Taliban official dismissed any responsibility of the group for the incident. The attacks have worsened since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. One person was arrested and questioned the following day. According to the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, several claims told that it was not a suicide attack and that it was possible a roadside bomb or a rocket attack. On the same day as the Baghlan bombings, Taliban rockets were fired at an Afghan base near

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

during a visit by Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay, injuring several soldiers. That incident was likely unrelated to the Baghlan bombing.

Reactions

* Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the Baghlan explosion "was not conducted by the Taliban". * Afghan president

Hamid Karzai Hamid Karzai (born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan politician who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from 2002 to 2014, including as the first president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from 2004 to 2014. He previously served a ...

had immediately condemned the attacks in a statement: "This heinous act of terrorism is against Islam and humanity and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms. It is the work of the enemies of peace and security in Afghanistan". He announced three days of national mourning * Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said on Wednesday that targeting innocent people and members of the Afghan Parliament run counter to the Islamic teachings and human values. * Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay met with Karzai on November 7 to discuss about the ongoing deterioration of the situation. MacKay commented: "Yes, this is an undeniable tragedy and one that has shocked many. And yet this is not going to deter the Afghan people on their road to a stable, democratic, fully functioning society." * In a statement issued on the same day

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

called the act as "despicable act of cowardice" that "reminds us who the enemy is—extremists with evil in their hearts" and added that the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

will be committed on working with the government of Afghanistan and

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

allies to fight the terrorists who use murder to advance their hateful ideology" Karzai: 41 killed in suicide blast - CNN.com
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References

External links