Islamic State claims credit for deadly bombing in Afghan capital

Islamic State:- An Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan claimed Tuesday that it was behind a suicide bombing in Kabul the previous day, killing at least six people and injuring 13 others.

The de facto Taliban government reported the casualties shortly after Monday’s attack in the Afghan capital, noting that a man detonated explosives strapped to his body in the middle of a crowd and describing the victims as civilians.

However, the Afghan offshoot of the Middle East-based global terror network, known as the Islamic State-Khorasan or IS-K, disputed the Taliban’s claims in a post Tuesday on its Telegram channel.

IS-K asserted that one of its suicide bombers had targeted the state prosecution service and put the casualties at “more than 45,” saying Taliban members were also among the fatalities.

“The attack came in retaliation for Muslim prisoners in Taliban prisons, especially after their transfer to the notorious 'Bagram' prison, in a repeat of the American era and its practices against prisoners,” IS-K stated.

It referred to the former U.S.-run military base and detention center just north of Kabul. Bagram served as the main base for American troops for nearly two decades until they withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021, after which the then-insurgent Taliban swept back to power.

U.S. forces would detain terrorism suspects and Taliban insurgents at the Bagram prison amid persistent allegations that inmates were being subjected to abuse there.

Monday’s IS-K attack in Kabul came a day after Taliban prison officials announced that the Bagram detention facility was being reactivated and that some prisoners had already been transferred there. But they did not elaborate further.

Neither IS-K claims nor those made by the Taliban could be verified from independent sources, with both sides often accused of inflating or hiding details about such attacks.

Taliban authorities insist their counterterrorism operations have “almost decimated” IS-K in Afghanistan since retaking control of the country three years ago. However, U.S. officials and United Nations reports have repeatedly disputed the Taliban’s claims, identifying IS-K as a growing terrorism threat to the region and beyond. VOA/SP