Afghan forces seize two tons of explosives

The NDS said the material was hidden in 20 bags sent by the Haqqani network from neighbouring Pakistan

KABUL:

Afghan security forces have seized and destroyed two tons of ammonium nitrate, an ingredient of improvised explosives, the intelligence agency said on Wednesday.

The discovery in the Budkhak area in the east of Kabul Monday evening came two days after Taliban insurgents attacked a guest house attached to the Spanish embassy in a heavily protected neighbourhood in the Afghan capital.

“The material is used for car and suicide bombings and this discovery will prevent dozens of bomb attacks,” said an intelligence agency official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The National Directorate of Security, the country’s main intelligence agency, said the material was hidden in 20 bags sent by the Haqqani network from neighbouring Pakistan.

The Friday attack, involving four Taliban suicide bombers, lasted for more than 10 hours during which two Spanish security officers, and four Afghan policemen, were killed.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 17^th,  2015.