The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for a recent suicide bombing targeting a Taliban government ministry in Afghanistan. The attack occurred on Thursday and resulted in one death and at least three injuries. The specific ministry targeted was the Afghan Ministry of Urban Development and Housing, located in Kabul. The suicide attacker was shot by guards while attempting to enter the building and detonated his explosives around 9:30 AM local time (0500 GMT).
Initially, the Taliban’s interior ministry spokesman, Abdul Mateen Qani, reported the casualties as one dead and three injured. However, Kabul’s Emergency Hospital later reported one fatality and five wounded individuals, four of whom were critically injured. An IS communique, translated by the SITE Intelligence Group, stated that the attacker “detonated his explosive vest on multiple officials and guards inside” the headquarters of “the apostate Taliban militia.”
Additionally, on Wednesday prior to the bombing, IS claimed responsibility for an attack on a bank in northern Afghanistan, which resulted in the deaths of eight individuals, specifically targeting Taliban government employees collecting paychecks. Although violence has generally decreased since the Taliban regained power in 2021, the IS group persists in launching gun and bomb attacks against Taliban officials and entities, posing a significant security challenge.
The Taliban government has prioritized security since taking control and has engaged in measures to suppress IS activities. Nevertheless, IS remains an active threat, having conducted previous attacks, including a suicide bombing in December that killed Taliban minister Khalil Ur-Rahman Haqqani. Moreover, six civilians were killed in an IS-claimed assault in 2023 near the heavily fortified Taliban foreign ministry.
A recent United Nations Security Council report characterized the IS group as “the most serious threat to the de facto authorities, ethnic and religious minorities, the United Nations, foreign nationals, and international representatives” in Afghanistan, highlighting the ongoing security issues in the region.
