News / Afghanistan

16 Afghan children injured in rocket attack in Kunar

Monday, 26 April 2021 2:36 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 14 May 2021 7:55 AM ]

Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers stand guard near a damaged petrol station at the site of a bomb attack in Kabul on April 21, 2021. (Photo by AFP)

Sixteen children are among several people who were injured in a rocket attack targeting the provincial governor’s compound in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Kunar.

Iqbal Sayeed, the governor of Kunar, said the Taliban rocket on Monday hit the hall where a Holy Quran recitation competition was underway.

Three members of security forces as well as religious affairs officials were also wounded.

The Taliban, blamed for the rocket assault, said they were aware of the incident and investigating.

In the eastern city of Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, six people were injured in a roadside bomb blast damaging an army vehicle.

On Sunday, eight Afghan policemen were killed in an ambush by the Taliban in the southeastern province of Logar.

Rocket attack hits Kabul on Afghanistan independence day

The Taliban have stepped up attacks on security forces, particularly since peace negotiations with the government failed to make progress.

The militant group has threatened to resume attacks against foreign troops if Washington fails to meet the agreed May 1 deadline for the withdrawal of its forces.

The United Nations has said nearly 1,800 Afghan civilians were killed or wounded in the first three months of 2021 due to fighting between government forces and the Taliban.

Rocket attacks in Afghan capital killed 3, injured 16

Two decades have passed since the United States, along with its NATO allies, invaded Afghanistan in October 2001. The ‘forever war’ – as some in the US has labeled it – removed the Taliban from power.

The militant group was removed, but not incapacitated. Afghanistan is ravaged by persistent attacks.

In February 2020, the Taliban struck a deal with the administration of then US President Donald Trump that would have seen American troops withdraw by May 2021 in exchange for security guarantees.

Trump’s successor Joe Biden has pushed that deadline back to September 11.

Observers say a recent decision by Washington to reschedule the withdrawal will hinder the peace process and violate the deal with the Taliban.

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