Kandahar blast provokes domestic and int’l reactions

Thursday’s explosion in front of the Kabul Bank office in Kandahar province has provoked domestic and international reactions which left three dead and 12 injured.

US Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West has strongly condemned the suicide attack in Kandahar.

“The United States condemns the senseless terrorist attacks in Kandahar and Kabul earlier today [Thursday] that claimed innocent civilian lives during the holy month of Ramadan. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those lost,” West said in a post on X.

The US Embassy for Afghanistan, which is currently operating in Qatar, also condemned this explosion and called it “cowardly”.

“We condemn all acts of terror, whether they occur in the Dasht-e-Barchi neighborhood of Kabul or outside New Kabul Bank in Kandahar, as cowardly acts. My sympathies are with the families of the victims. Afghans should be able to observe Ramadan peacefully & without fear,” said Karen Decker, US Chargé d’Affaires for Kabul.

Former President Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah, Chairman of the High Council for National Reconciliation in the previous government, also called this attack against Islamic values and unforgivable.

Meanwhile, Daesh claimed responsibility for Kandahar’s suicide blast.

However, the Islamic Emirate has always denied the presence of terrorist groups, especially Daesh in Afghanistan.

Reportedly, the suicide attack in Kandahar has claimed at least 21 lives and 51 injured.

Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Matin Qane has assured that the perpetrators of this explosion will be identified, arrested and handed over to judicial authorities.