[Later
on Monday, a branch of the Islamic State also claimed responsibility for the
bombing, according to the SITE Institute, which tracks jihadist groups. It was
impossible to reconcile the competing claims. The Islamic State statement
mistakenly asserted that the Nepalese contractors worked at the American
Embassy rather than the Canadian Embassy.]
By Kareem Fahim and Jawad
Sukhanyar
 |
Nepalese security guards traveling by bus were killed by a suicide bomber
in Kabul on Monday. The Taliban took responsibility. By THE NEW YORK TIMES on Publish Date June 20, 2016. Photo by Omar Sobhani/Reuters. Watch in Times Video » |
KABUL,
Afghanistan — A Taliban
suicide bomber attacked a minibus carrying Nepalese and Indian security
contractors to work at the Canadian Embassy early Monday, killing 14 people in
one of the deadliest attacks on foreign workers in the Afghan capital, the
police and government officials said.
The Taliban quickly claimed responsibility
for the bombing, along with another explosion in the city on Monday morning that
wounded a Kabul provincial council member. The twin explosions shattered a
relative calm in Kabul during the holy month of Ramadan, which began in early
June, and underscored the Taliban’s rejection of a request by the United
Nations for a cease-fire that would last the month.
Thousands of Nepalese security contractors,
in particular, work at foreign military or diplomatic compounds in Afghanistan,
many drawn to work here by better wages and more jobs than are available for
them back home. Despite tight security measures at the foreign missions where
they work, or surrounding their barracks, the contractors often travel to work
in unguarded buses that are seen as especially vulnerable to insurgent attacks.
The minibus carrying the contractors was
traveling through the eastern part of Kabul when it was attacked by a bomber
wearing an explosive belt and traveling on foot, security officials said. Sediq
Sediqqi, the spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, put the death toll at 14,
with eight more people wounded, some of whom might also have been civilians.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, made
the claims of responsibility on Twitter and gave a higher death toll for the
bus bombing, saying that 20 foreign guards had been killed.
Later on Monday, a branch of the Islamic
State also claimed responsibility for the bombing, according to the SITE
Institute, which tracks jihadist groups. It was impossible to reconcile the
competing claims. The Islamic State statement mistakenly asserted that the
Nepalese contractors worked at the American Embassy rather than the Canadian
Embassy.
Canada’s ambassador to Afghanistan, Deborah
A. Lyons,said in a statement that 12 of the victims were from Nepal and two
were from India. “Many of the men killed today have been part of our embassy
family for many years,” she said.
In the second bombing in Kabul, Attaullah
Faizani, a member of Kabul’s provincial council, was wounded along with two
other people when an explosive device detonated about 40 yards from the council
member’s home, according to Fraidoon Obaidy, a senior police official in Kabul.
In a separate bombing, 10 people, including
some children, were killed in the northeastern province of Badakhshan when an
explosive-laden motorcycle detonated in a traffic roundabout, local officials
said. The Taliban officially denied that they were behind that bombing, as they
have with some other attacks in which most of the victims were civilians. But
later, Taliban commanders in the province told a reporter that the group was,
in fact, responsible the bombing.
The surge of violence on Monday highlighted
the challenges facing the government as a resurgent Taliban that has expanded
its territory over the last year. But as the threats have escalated, the post
of defense minister has been left vacant for months, fueling a perception that
the Afghan government had yielded its authority over the war effort to American
commanders.
On Monday, the Afghan parliament approved a
nominee, Gen. Abdullah Khan Habibi, as defense minister, after numerous
previous attempts to fill the post had failed since the government was first
installed in September 2014. General Habibi, 64, had served in the armed forces
or defense ministry under several previous Afghan administrations – including
under Taliban rule, military officials said.
Follow Kareem Fahim on Twitter @kfahim.
Reporting was contributed by Zahra Nader and
Rod Nordland from Kabul, and by an employee of The New York Times in
Afghanistan.
