Afghan capital in shock after ambulance bomb kills over 100

Kabul (Reuters): Kabul reacted in despair and fear on Sunday, a day after a suicide bomb killed more than 100 people and wounded at least 235 in the worst attack seen in the Afghan capital in months.

There was a mix of helpless anger at the seemingly endless wave of attacks after an ambulance packed with explosives blew up in a crowded city street, with security officials warning that more attacks were possible.

Interior Minister Wais Barmak said the casualty toll had risen to at least 103 dead and 235 wounded. He said at least two vehicles painted as ambulances were involved in the attack, one of which blew up at when it was stopped at a police checkpoint.

The blast was claimed by the Taliban, a week after their deadly attack on the city’s Intercontinental Hotel, in a calculated answer to US President Donald Trump’s new strategy in Afghanistan.

 “The Islamic Emirate has a clear message for Trump and his hand kissers that if you go ahead with a policy of aggression and speak from the barrel of a gun, don’t expect Afghans to grow flowers in response,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement, using the term the use to describe themselves.

Trump, who last year sent more American troops to Afghanistan and ordered an increase in air strikes and other assistance to Afghan forces, said the attack “renews our resolve and that of our Afghan partners”.

The attack was the worst seen in the Afghan capital since a truck bomb near the German embassy killed 150 people in May.

After a deadly week in which an office of the aid group Save the Children in the eastern city of Jalalabad was also attacked, President Ashraf Ghani’s Western-backed government has faced growing pressure to improve security.

Despite a major tightening in checks following the 31 May attack, the ambulance was able to get through the checkpoints, apparently without difficulty.

Pressure is likely to mount on President Ashraf Ghani to resolve political confrontation with his opponents, in particular with provincial powerbrokers defying central rule, and focus on security.