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KABUL (Reuters) – Afghan Vice President Abdoul Rachid Dostum escaped a bomb blast at Kabul airport on Sunday as he returned to Afghanistan after a year in exile in Turkey after accusations of kidnapping and rape of political opponent.
The Uzbek warlord had been leaving the airport for a few minutes when a suicide bomber probably exploded, killing 14 people and about 50 others. injured, said Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish.
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility through its propaganda body Amaq for this attack. He said a suicide bomber fired the explosive jacket he wore during the ceremony to host the Afghan vice president.
A spokesman for the Kabul police said the explosion took place was produced near the main entrance of the airport, where supporters of Dostum had gathered to welcome him.
The veteran of decades of Afghan wars was not injured. Much of the center of Kabul, including the edge of the presidential palace, had been cordoned off to secure his return to the country.
General Dostum had left Kabul in May 2017 while Western countries, including the United States, were demanding that he is accountable to the courts for the acts of torture and rape that his bodyguards – and possibly himself – inflicted in 2016 on a political rival, Ahmed Eshchi – charges denied by the Vice President
Although in exile, Dostum remained an influential figure in Afghan politics among his Uzbek compatriots living in northern Afghanistan.
While residing in Turkey, he formed an alliance with two powerful political leaders, Atta Mohammad Noor, respected leader in the Tajik community, and Mohammad Mohaqiq, leader of the Hazara minority, who both joined him on Sunday in Kabul.
President Ashraf Ghani Reintegrating his former ally who had helped him in the 2014 presidential campaign by mobilizing the Uzbeks in his favor but who turned out to be an unpredictable partner.
Dostum's return comes after two weeks of protests, sometimes members of his supporters to demand the release of a militia leader arrested after an altercation with officers of the Afghan regular forces.
(James Mackenzie; Tangi Salaün for the French Service)
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