The Kamikaze attack makes 11 dead at Kabul airport

A suicide bomber killed at least 11 people and wounded 14 at the entrance of international airport in Kabul authorities said Sunday. to welcome the former Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum from exile.

Read more: The suicide attack makes at least 7 dead in Afghanistan

At the time of the explosion, senior officials, political leaders and supporters left the airport after hailing the powerful Uzbek ethnic leader and ex-caudillo

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Dostum, wearing a western suit and sunglbades and traveling in an armored vehicle, was unscathed, said spokesman Bashir Ahmad Tayanj

Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai said that 11 people died and 14 were wounded . He did not make a crisis.

The suicide bomber was on foot, Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said, adding that civilians, including a child and members of the security forces were among the victims .

Dostum, who is linked to a catalog of human rights abuses in Afghanistan was besieged as a celebrity when he left the chartered plane from Turkey, where he has been living since May 2017.

The return, which has been the subject of much speculation, comes amidst violent protests in several northern provinces of Afghanistan, its traditional power base.

Thousands of Dostum supporters have taken to the streets in recent weeks. Electoral and government offices and the blocking of highways sections to demand the release of a pro-government militia leader and request the return of Dostum.

Expectations of return have done little to calm the riots, and protesters swore on Sunday that they will continue to demonstrate until the strong leader of the ethnic Uzbek minority tells them the opposite.

We do not trust the government. We will continue our protests unless General Dostum tells us to stop, said Ehsanullah Qowanch, a protest leader in Faryab province, to AFP.

Qowanch also repeated calls for the release of Nezamuddin Qaisari, a district police chief and Dostum's provincial representative in Faryab, whose arrest earlier this month triggered the protests.

Another protester, Mbadoud Khan, said: We have been in the street for 20 days. We will not stop our protests unless our demands are met.

"Known Killer"

Observers say that President Ashraf Ghani, an ethnic Pashtun, gave Dostum the go-ahead for him to return home, stabilize the north and get support from him. Uzbekistan before the presidential election next year. 19659002] Dostum left Afghanistan in May 2017 after being accused of organizing the rape and torture of a political rival.

He denied the allegations and declared that his departure was for medical examinations and for family reasons. 19659023] Illustrative picture: AFP