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Devastating blasts rip through Hazara protest in Kabul

Twin ISIL-claimed explosions targeting protest by members of Afghanistan’s Hazara minority kill dozens, wound hundreds.

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Men transport a wounded person at a Kabul hospital after the suicide attack. [Mohammad Ismail/Reuters]
Published On 23 Jul 2016

At least 80 people have been killed and hundreds wounded in a double suicide attack at a demonstration in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, according to officials from the public health ministry.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group claimed responsibility for the blasts, which targeted members of the country’s Hazara minority.

Mohammad Ismail Kawousi, a spokesman for the ministry of public health, said the dead and wounded had been taken to nearby hospitals.


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The attack was claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group. [Massoud Hossaini/AP]
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Men carry a wounded boy outside a hospital after the attack. [Mohammad Ismail/Reuters]
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Witnesses in Kabul said the attack targeted members of Afghanistan’s Hazara minority group, who were demanding that a major regional electric power line be routed through their impoverished home province. [Massoud Hossaini/AP]
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Thousands of Hazara were protesting against the proposed route of the Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan (TUTAP) power line, calling on the government to re-route the line through Bamiyan province which has a majority of Hazara population. The government says the proposed route saves millions of dollars in cost. [Hedayatullah Amid/EPA]
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A boy, in a state of shock, sits near the scene of the bomb attack. [Hedayatullah Amid/EPA]
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Following the blasts, calls went out on social media for blood donations to the city’s poorly resourced hospitals. [Hedayatullah Amid/EPA]
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People help a man wounded in the blast. [Reuters]
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Shortly after the attack, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied the group was behind the bombing, saying it “did not have any involvement or hand in this tragic attack.” [Rahmat Gul/AP]
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Thousands of demonstrators from Afghanistan's Hazara minority attended the protest in Kabul. [Omar Sobhani/Reuters]