Charity targeted in deadly Kabul attack

Afghan men stand at the site of a car bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, September 6, 2016. REUTERS photo

Explosions rang out yesterday during an hours-long attack on an international charity in Kabul, the latest assault in a wave of violence in the Afghan capital that has killed at least 24 people and wounded dozens.

The assault on CARE International began late on Sept. 5 with a massive car bombing, just hours after the Taliban carried out a brazen double suicide attack near the defense ministry.

A plume of smoke rose over the upscale neighborhood of Shar-e Naw after the raid on the charity, located next to the office of Afghanistan’s former intelligence chief Rahmatullah Nabil.

It remains unclear which compound was the intended target of the attack, which left piles of rubble and shards of broken glass strewn across the area.

“An armed group launched an attack on what is believed to have been an Afghan government compound located close to the Kabul office of CARE,” the charity said, adding that its staff had been safely evacuated.

“The incident continued through the early morning yesterday with damages sustained to the CARE compound.”

The interior ministry said 42 people including 10 foreigners were rescued and added that no one was killed in the attack, revising its earlier toll of one fatality.

“Our new investigation shows... only six people were wounded,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that all three assailants had been gunned down by Afghan forces.

No militant group has so far claimed responsibility for the raid on the charity, but it comes as the Taliban ramp up their nationwide offensive against the U.S.-backed government.

The attack had been preceded by twin Taliban blasts that killed at least 24 people during the city’s rush hour on Sept. 5, including high-level officials, and left 91 others wounded.