KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — A truck bomb explosion killing more than 80 and wounding more than 460 is being reported as the deadliest terrorist attack to take place in Afghanistan in many years, according to the country’s deputy interior minister.
The truck bomb was stopped just outside Afghanistan’s presidential palace, also near the foreign embassies of Germany, Turkey, and the U.A.E. According to The New York Times, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had reportedly just finished his morning briefing when his palace windows exploded. The damage could have been even worse had police officers not blocked the truck from entering the restricted zone the bombers were likely attempting trying to reach. Those who lost their lives were mostly innocent people heading to work during the most highly-trafficked time of the morning.
Of the roughly 13,000 NATO forces stationed in Afghanistan, about 8,400 are American soldiers. The U.S. is currently contemplating sending as many as 5,000 more troops into the war torn area. The Taliban has reportedly refuted accusations that it was responsible for the attack, yet Afghanistan’s national security and intelligence agencies believe the terrorist group’s Haqqani wing was behind the plot.
