Death Toll in Attack at Afghan Political Office Rises to 20

The attack came on the first day of the Afghan presidential campaign which is scheduled for the end of September.

Afghan security forces at the site of attack in Kabul, Afghanistan on 28 July 2019. 

(Photo: AP/Rahmat Gul)   

The death toll from an attack against the Kabul office of the Afghan president's running mate and former chief of the intelligence service climbed to at least 20 people on Monday, 29 July, an official said.

Around 50 other people were wounded in Sunday's attack against the Green Trend party headquarters, which lasted hours and included a gunbattle between security forces and the attackers, who were holed up inside the building, according to Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi.

Several gunmen were killed by the security forces, Rahimi said.

The attackers' potential target, vice presidential candidate and former intelligence chief Amrullah Saleh, was "evacuated from the building and moved to a safe location," Rahimi said. Some 85 other civilians were also rescued from inside.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but both the Taliban and the Islamic State group are active in the capital and have carried out large-scale attacks in Kabul in the past.

Sunday marked the first day of the Afghan presidential campaign, with a vote scheduled for the end of September.

After the attack, President Ashraf Ghani tweeted that Saleh was unharmed during the "complex attack" targeting the Green Trend office.

Saleh founded the Green Trend after he was sacked as intelligence chief in 2010 by former President Hamid Karzai. Though a relative newcomer on the Afghan political scene, its focus has been democracy and reform while fiercely opposing the Taliban and their extremist ideology.

Ferdous Faramarz, the spokesman for Kabul’s police chief, said the attack started with a suicide car bombing, after which other attackers entered the building and started shooting at security forces.

The explosion from the initial bombing was large enough to be heard throughout the capital.

Ghani is seeking a second term in the 28 September vote on promises of ending the war but has been largely sidelined over the past year amid US-Taliban talks.

India Expresses 'Deepest Condolences' for Families of the Deceased: MEA

Meanwhile, India condemned the attack in Kabul on Sunday and expressed "deepest condolences" for the families of the deceased.

"This dastardly attack was aimed at undermining the constitutional and democratic processes and institutions in Afghanistan," ANI quoted Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) as saying on Sunday.

"India stands in solidarity with the government and the people of Afghanistan in their efforts to achieve enduring peace, security and stability in the region," the MEA reportedly said.

US Envoy Holds Talks with Taliban to End America's Longest War

US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, who is currently visiting Kabul, has held several rounds of talks with the Taliban in recent months in a bid to end America's longest war. The two sides appear to be closing in on an agreement in which the US would withdraw its forces in return for a pledge from the Taliban to keep the country from being used as a launch pad for global attacks.

The Taliban and the Islamic State group’s affiliate in Afghanistan are sharply divided over ideology and tactics, with the Taliban largely confining their attacks to government targets and Afghan and international security forces.

The Taliban and IS have fought each other on a number of occasions, and the Taliban are still the larger and more imposing force.

(With inputs from the Associated Press and ANI)