A bomb went off in Kabul that targetted Afghanistan's first vice president's convoy. The explosion killed at least ten people and is the latest sign of potential threat to the U.S.-backed historic talks between Kabul and the Taliban group that aims to end nearly two decades of conflicts.
Bombing ahead of peace talks
The attackers placed the explosive inside a wheelbarrow which was detonated near Amrullah Saleh's convoy in the country's capital on Wednesday.
Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said that Salleh incurred minor injuries while 15 other individuals were wounded including the vice president's bodyguards.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Vice President Salleh appeared on video a few hours after the explosion and was seen with a bandage wrapped around his left hand. He stated their fight continues despite the bombing and that he serves the Afghan citizens.
No one took responsibility for the bombing, and the Taliban group immediately denied any involvement. However, the Interior Ministry said the explosives used in the attack were similar to the devices that the Haqqani unit of the insurgent group used in previous attacks.
Vice President Salleh, a former intelligence chief, has been an open critic of the Taliban and was previously at risk after being targetted by the group.
In 2019, a suspected Taliban attack aimed to strike him during his campaign as President Ashraf Ghani's running mate.
Salleh is also a prominent supporter of the peace process and has consistently said that the way to true peace is to have the Taliban commit to a cease-fire with the country.
Ghani stated that when the Taliban group commit such crimes, both terrorists and their international supporters, they are only strengthening peace, democracy, and a positive future for Afghanistan.
In February, the Taliban signed an agreement with the United States where American soldiers would withdraw from the country on the condition that the insurgent group stopped its bombing attacks on urban centers.
Continuous terrorism
However, Afghan officials said that the Taliban continued their terrorizing assaults while denying any involvement with the attacks, as reported by The New York Times.
In July last year, an attack on Salleh's office killed nearly 20 of his closest aides including some of his family members a few hours after he announced his candidacy for vice president.
A group of suicide bombers detonated a vehicle bomb outside and rushed through to the fourth floor of the building the official was in, mowing down many of the people inside. After several hours of fighting, Salleh barely made it out alive after climbing a ladder to a nearby building's roof.
According to BBC, A European Union delegation in the country criticized the bombing saying it was an atrocious act that attempted to undermine the peace efforts of officials.
In the next few days, Afghan officials will move forward with long-delayed historic talks with the insurgent group. The discussions aim to reach an agreement of peace and create a political reconciliation after years of conflicts.
Mohammad Massom Stanekzai, the head of the Afghan government's negotiating team, called for a stop to the violence if the path to peace was to succeed as a response to the bombing. He said that there should be no excuses and that the killings must end.
