Car Bomb Targets Afghan Defense Minister's House, Four Dead And Dozens Injured

JAKARTA - Afghan Defense Minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi was not at home on Tuesday, when gunmen detonated a car bomb and opened fire near the heavily fortified Green Zone in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Citing BBC News on Wednesday 4 August, Mohammadi's family was evacuated safely, while the assailants were reported dead. A total of four attackers were killed in the car bomb attack.

This was confirmed with Afghan security officials telling the AFP news agency, four people were killed in the attack. Meanwhile, Italy's medical charity confirmed around 11 injured people had been taken to its facilities in Kabul, along with the bodies of four who died.

"Don't worry, everything is fine!" Mohammadi wrote on Twitter, after an attack that the US State Department described as having all the hallmarks of a Taliban attack. However, no group has immediately claimed responsibility.

Health Ministry spokesman Ghulam Dastagir Nazari said at least seven other people were injured in the attack. An Interior Ministry spokesman said the operation of the security forces in response to the attack ended in the deaths of all the attackers, citing Reuters.

A senior security official said the explosions appeared to have targeted the house of the official Afghan defense minister and the adjoining residence of a member of the Afghan parliament. Meanwhile, a Kabul police spokesman said at least 30 civilians had been rescued from the blast site.

Hours after the attack, crowds of Kabul residents took to the streets and rooftops on Tuesday night to chant slogans against the Taliban attack. The day before, this also happened in the city of Herat which has recently been hit by heavy fighting between the Afghan military and the Taliban.

The attack on the city center, one of the safest areas in Kabul, comes as the Taliban escalates violence. Attacks have increased sharply since President Joe Biden announced the withdrawal of US troops in April and will be completed in full by September.

To note, the Taliban continues to make progress in its battle against the Afghan military, despite US-backed air strikes in recent days targeting the group. This condition has made the United Nations (UN) and other international agencies warn of a worsening humanitarian crisis.