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A suicide bombing occurred on 21 March 2018 around 12:00 PM (7:30 AM UTC) in
Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...
near Kart-e Sakhi, a
Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...
shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...
. At least 33 people were killed with more than 65 wounded in the bombing. The militant group ISIL claimed responsibility for the attack.


Attack

Kabul had been on alert for attacks during
Nowruz Nowruz (, , () , () , () , () , Kurdish language, Kurdish: () , () , () , () , , , , () , , ) is the Iranian or Persian New Year. Historically, it has been observed by Iranian peoples, but is now celebrated by many ...
, the Persian New Year. The attack took place at the Sakhi shrine, a frequented location during the occasion. The shrine has been the target of previous attacks; in October 2016, 14 people were killed during the festival of
Ashura Ashura (, , ) is a day of commemoration in Islam. It occurs annually on the tenth of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar. For Sunni Muslims, Ashura marks the parting of the Red Sea by Moses and the salvation of the Israelites ...
, and 11 people had been killed in a bombing in 2011. A spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of the Interior stated that the attacker approached the shrine on foot who was then prevented from getting closer to the shrine due to police checkpoints and when he was identified by the police, he detonated the explosives he was carrying among a group of passersby. At least 33 people were killed in the bombing, while injuring more than 65, according to a statement from a spokesperson for the Ministry for Public Health.


Perpetrators

The
Amaq News Agency Amaq News Agency () is a news outlet linked to the Islamic State (IS). Amaq is often the "first point of publication for claims of responsibility" for terrorist attacks in Western countries by the Islamic State. In March 2019, Amaq News Agency w ...
, the unofficial mouthpiece of the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...
(ISIL), claimed responsibility for the attack on behalf of the group, saying that the attacks specifically targeted Shiites celebrating Nowruz. ISIL has repeatedly targeted Shia Muslims, who form a minority of 15% in Afghanistan, over the past few years.


Aftermath

The spokesman for Kabul's police force said that an investigation had been launched into the bombing. Survivors claimed about 20 were lightly injured as well.


Reactions

Shortly after the attack, Afghanistan's National Security Advisor Hanif Atmar was interviewed about the country's strategy to combat extremism by German broadcaster
Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...
, who condemned the attack and highlighted that the West and the country share "a common threat". The Indian Ministry of External Affairs condemned the "inhumane and barbaric" attack, and offered to provide any required assistance to Afghanistan. Tadamichi Yamamoto, UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan strongly condemned the suicide bombing and called the attacks "unjustifiable". The US ambassador to Afghanistan, John R. Bass also condemned the attack in a statement stating "... ewas deeply saddened by the shameful attack near Kabul University today, at the start of the new year." The Prime Minister of Pakistan Shahid Khaqan Abbasi in a meeting with Afghan ambassador Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal, condemned the blast and expressed grief at the loss of lives.


See also

* List of terrorist incidents linked to Islamic State – Khorasan Province * List of terrorist incidents in March 2018 * List of terrorist attacks in Kabul


References

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