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Afghan girls and boys attend a demonstration calling on Afghan President Ashraf Ghani to act against militant groups in front of the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan, on November 12, 2018. (Jawad Jalali / EPA-EFE / REX / Shutterstock )
KABUL – A suicide bomb attack on Monday hit at least six people, according to witnesses and officials, at a Shiite rally protesting attacks on their community in the Afghan capital.
Hundreds of members of the Shiite religious minority have been demonstrating since Sunday night in front of the presidential palace in the face of the government's inability to stop a series of attacks targeting predominantly Shiite areas of the country's central, dominated country. Hazaras, who belong for the most part to the same group. sect.
While the demonstration was in full swing, security officials in Kabul announced the dispatch of additional troops and the use of air force against insurgents in the areas in question.
No group took responsibility for the attack, although affiliates of the Islamic State claimed many of the strikes against the Shiites, including the one that killed many anti-government protesters at the time. the summer of 2016.
The hardline Sunni insurgent movement views the Shia branch of Islam as a heresy and often targets civilians in this group. Estimates of the number of Shiites in the country vary considerably, but it is estimated that they represent about 10% of the population.
Police said the protest was probably the target of the attacker and, according to residents, ordered the closure of all avenues leading to the presidential palace in the heart of the city.
"The suicide bomber was on foot and an explosion took place as he was heading towards the protesters," said Ahmad Tamim, eyewitness.
The demonstration had already disrupted normal life in Kabul, resulting in the closure of some government institutions and enterprises.
Television footage showed victims scattered in a part of the street, near the palace, while ambulances went to the scene to evacuate the victims.
The attack in Kabul comes as the main opponent of the Afghan government, the formidable Taliban insurgency, intensified its attacks against security forces throughout the country.
Reports from Uruzgan and neighboring Ghazni provinces report a steady assault on Taliban attacks over the past two weeks that have killed dozens of government troops. , including the elite forces.
A recent report by an American watchdog has described the losses suffered by government forces at the highest level ever, while the government controls a little over half of the country and is gradually losing ground.
Many of the areas recently seized by the Taliban were among the safest in the country.
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