Afghan Taliban denies involvement in Kabul truck bombing

Alleges the attack was orchestrated by the foreign forces to tarnish the image of new Taliban leader

ISLAMABAD: Denying their involvement in a truck bombing Kabul that caused diplomatic tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Afghan Taliban claimed that the attack was carried out by the foreign forces.

Following a series of attacks, including the truck bombing incident in Kabul, which left 15 dead and 240 wounded, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani refused to go ahead with the Pakistan-brokered peace talks with the Taliban, saying, “Pakistan still remains a breeding ground from where mercenaries send us messages of war.”

Read: Organisers of terrorist attacks still exist in Pakistan: Afghan president

Rejecting the claims of Afghan authorities that the Taliban was behind the attack, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid described it as “aimless attack” in the middle of locals’ homes.

In a statement issued by the Taliban, Mujahid said neither any leader of Taliban nor any local Mujahideen associated with the group had any involvement in this ‘suspicious blast’.

Read: Truck bomb in Kabul kills eight, wounds nearly 200

While condemning the incident, the Taliban spokesperson said they will research to the bottom of the incident to expose the actual perpetrators of this attack.

Afghan security forces and residents stand near the crater from a powerful truck bomb in Kabul on August 7, 2015. PHOTO: AFP

Alleging that the attack was probably orchestrated by the foreign forces to tarnish “the image of the new Taliban leader or for some other malicious objective,” Mujahid claimed that initial investigation reveals that the attack was a “targeted air or missile attack” while a large bomb was also deployed which created a huge crater in the ground.

“Locals also witnessed sounds of aircraft and a power blackout prior to the attack which makes it seems as if this attack was preplanned,” the Taliban spokesperson added.