On Monday, a suicide bombing was carried out on the southern outskirts of the Afghan capital city of Kabul. The attack killed at least six people and wounded 13 others, according to Afghan police.
The strike was in the Qala Bakhtiar neighborhood. ISIS-K, the local ISIS affiliate which US officials repeatedly claimed was totally destroyed during the Afghan War, has taken credit for the attack, and put the total number of deaths much higher at “more than 45” killed.
ISIS said that the strike was meant to “avenge Muslims held in Taliban prisons.” Though violence in Afghanistan is generally down since the end of the US-led occupation, ISIS-K remains an active force in the country, carrying out attacks of opportunity as they are able.
The Taliban has sought to downplay the seriousness of the ISIS-K threat just as much as the US-backed government did, saying last month that ISIS-K only existed in the country before the Taliban “suppressed them very hard.” Government spokesmen Zabihullah Mujahid added at the time that “no groups exist” which pose any threat to the country.
ISIS-K has been blamed for several high-profile attacks in recent years, including the 2021 attack outside the Kabul airport, and the 2022 attack targeting students at a school, both of which left high casualties.
The most recent ISIS-K attack in Afghanistan came in March, and was detonated in front of a bank in the city of Kandahar. Three people were reported killed and 12 others were wounded.
