14 killed in Kabul blast; Vice President survives attack

14 killed in Kabul blast; Vice President survives attack

KABUL, July 22, 2018 (Xinhua) -- An Afghan security force member carries an injured man at the site of an attack in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, July 22, 2018. Over two dozen people including civilians and police were killed and injured in a suicide attack that rocked Kabul on Sunday, an eyewitness said. (Xinhua/Rahmat Alizadah/IANS)

KABUL, July 22, 2018 (Xinhua) -- Afghan First Vice President General Abdul Rashid Dostum (C) arrives at the Kabul international airport, Afghanistan, July 22, 2018. Afghan First Vice President General Abdul Rashid Dostum, after nearly 14 months living in Turkey and receiving medical treatment and recovery, returned home on Sunday. (Xinhua/Rahmat Alizadah/IAN

Kabul, July 23 (IANS) Fourteen people have been killed in a blast which rocked Kabul airport shortly after Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum returned from self-imposed exile, according to police.

Dostum was unhurt in the attack on Sunday on a square he had just passed through, BBC reported. He left for Turkey more than a year ago, after he was accused of ordering his men to kidnap and rape a political rival -- accusations he denies. Militant group Islamic State has said it carried out the attack. Hashmat Estankzai, of Kabul police, said nine security forces members and traffic officers were among the 14 who had died, while another 60 people had been injured. Estankzai earlier told the BBC a suicide attacker on foot had set off his explosives outside the gate of the airport. Some reports said Gen Dostum's convoy was departing as the blast was heard. He was in an armoured vehicle. The ethnic Uzbek and former warlord had been cheered by supporters on arrival. Television footage showed Dostum greeting supporters at his office not long after the explosion. Dostum's reappearance was preceded by unrest in his powerbase in northern Afghanistan, as supporters demanded his return and the release of a militia leader. --IANS pgh/

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