Death toll in Taliban bombing and gunfight rises to 64; Afghan president calls the attack 'inhuman'

The death toll in Afghanistan from a massive car bombing and gun attack claimed by the Taliban has more than doubled to 64, the Interior Ministry said Wednesday.

Tuesday’s attack in the capital, Kabul, which targeted a directorate responsible for the security of high-level officials and dignitaries, also injured 347 people, including women and children, said Sediq Sediqqi, a ministry spokesman.

The revised toll makes it the deadliest bombing in Kabul since 2011, when an attack on a religious procession resulted in 70 deaths and at least 160 injuries.
The majority of Tuesday’s casualties were civilians, Sediqqi told reporters at a news conference.

The attack reportedly killed dozens of people in the directorate. The initial blast killed 22 people, including 15 cadets and two guards, and a subsequent gun battle involving several assailants left many more dead, according to news reports.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani lashed out at the Taliban while visiting the injured at a Kabul hospital Tuesday evening, calling the attack "inhuman" and "un-Islamic."

He went on to accuse the Taliban of working for unspecified foreign interests.
Vowing vengeance for each drop of blood spilled, Ghani asked the militants "[Do] you know who you are working for? [Do] you know who you are a proxy to?" 

Afghans have long accused their neighbor of aiding and abetting the armed opposition in Afghanistan, including the Taliban.

At a news conference Wednesday, the Afghan intelligence agency said the attack was planned by the militant Haqqani network in Pakistan. - Read More at the latimes

Death toll in Taliban bombing and gunfight rises to 64; Afghan president calls the attack 'inhuman'

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