At least two people injured in attack near ex-Afghan prime minister’s office

KABUL, Afghanistan – Two people were injured on Friday, December 2, in an attack in Kabul near the office of the Hezb-e-Islami party associated with former Afghan prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, but all the senior leaders were safe, the party said in a statement.

Multiple attackers were killed and several guards injured in the incident, according to three Hezb-e-Islami sources and one source with the ruling Taliban.

Kabul police and the interior ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack.

The incident took place on the same day as Pakistan Prime Minister condemned what he said was an assassination attempt on the country’s Head of Mission in Kabul. Taliban authorities did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The attack on the Hezb-e-Islami party office occurred near a mosque where senior party leaders were present, but all – including Hekmatyar – were unscathed, according to the party statement and his grandson, Obaidullah Baheer.

“All respected authorities, including the respected leader, are safe and sound … two senior guards from the leader’s support unit were superficially injured and no one else was injured,” the statement said.

One Taliban and one party source said a vehicle belonging to the attackers and packed with explosives had detonated near the office. Firing took place and two attackers were killed while trying to enter the mosque, they said.

Several bombing and shooting attacks have taken place in Afghanistan in recent months, some of which have been claimed by Islamic State militants. A blast at a madrassa on Wednesday, November 30, in northern Afghanistan killed at least 15 people.

The hardline Islamist Taliban, which seized power after US-led foreign forces withdrew in August 2021, have said they are focused on securing the country.

Hekmatyar founded Hezb-e-Islami in the mid-1970s as one of the main mujahideen groups fighting the 1980s Soviet invasion of Afghanistan from its base in Pakistan.

He held the office of prime minister twice during the 1990s. – Rappler.com