The Italian organization Emergency NGO said he was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. At least 58 other injured were also taken to the hospital.
The Interior Minister of the Taliban government, Sirajuddin Haqqani, had initially spoken of at least ten people injured in the explosion at the Sarai Shahzada market. The detonation happened when a thief threw a hand grenade to steal money, Haqqani said. The police are investigating the incident. The alleged perpetrator was therefore initially able to escape.
Initially, no one claimed responsibility for the crime. Since returning to power in August 2021, the radical Islamist Taliban have reported little about security incidents in Afghanistan – and in most cases the acts are attributed to robbers and kidnappers.
Explosion inside the market
Images on social media showed the bloodied floor of the market. Other footage showed people rushing to take the injured to hospitals. A money changer at the market told German Press Agency the blast happened inside the market when people were exchanging foreign currencies, particularly euros.
With the warmer weather, the number of security incidents in the country, which has been controlled by the radical Islamist Taliban since August 2021, is also increasing. In addition to the threat posed by rival terrorist militia “Islamic State” (IS), several armed groups made up mainly of anti-Taliban and former government security forces have announced their existence.
Since the Taliban took power in August 2021, the economy of the country, which has already been marked by long-standing conflicts, has shrunk by almost a third, according to UN figures. 24.4 million people depend on humanitarian aid to survive – almost 60 percent of the population. A donor conference recently raised around $2.4 billion (approximately €2.2 billion) to support Afghanistan and its neighboring countries.
Source: Nachrichten
