Islamic State jihadists claimed responsibility for twin explosions Saturday that ripped through crowds of Shiite Hazaras in Kabul, killing at least 80 people and wounding 231 others in the deadliest attack in the Afghan capital since 2001.
The bombings during a huge protest over a power line mark the first major IS assault on Kabul, apparently aimed at sowing sectarian discord in a country well known for Shia-Sunni harmony.
Charred bodies and dismembered limbs littered the scene of the attack, with ambulances struggling to reach the site as authorities had overnight blocked key intersections with stacked shipping containers to control movement of the protesters
As a result of the attack 80 people were martyred and 231 others were wounded,” the interior ministry said.
“The attack was carried out by three suicide bombers… The third attacker was gunned down by security forces.”
The wounded overwhelmed city hospitals, officials said, with reports emerging of blood shortages and urgent appeals for donors circulating on social media.
The Taliban, who are in the middle of their annual summer offensive and are more powerful than IS, strongly denied any involvement in the attack.
The Islamic State group claimed the bombings in a statement carried by its affiliated Amaq news agency, calling it an attack on Shiites.
“Two fighters of the Islamic State detonated their explosive belts in a gathering of Shiites in… Kabul,” Amaq said.
The attack represents a major escalation for IS, which so far has largely been confined to the eastern province of Nangarhar.
The National Directorate of Security, Afghanistan’s main intelligence agency, said the attack was masterminded by Abu Ali, an IS commander in Nangarhar’s volatile Achin district.
“It’s long been a fear about Afghanistan that IS-aligned forces will try to inject a sectarian dimension into a largely non-sectarian conflict,” Michael Kugelman, an analyst at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, told AFP
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