Afghan security personnel outside the house in Jalalabad that was targeted by a suicide bomber on Sunday morning
(Image, Mohammad Anwar Danishyar, AP)
Islamic Emirate (Afghan Taliban) have denied involvement in a suicide bombing targeting the home of a tribal elder belonging to a prominent political family in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan. Obaidullah Shinwari is a member of Nangarhar’s provincial council. The blast killed 13 people and left 14 wounded including Shinwari. Reuters reported,
“people had gathered to celebrate his son’s release from Taliban captivity, local officials said. The son was killed and at least 14 people, including his father, were wounded in the attack, according to Attaullah Khogyani, a spokesman for the provincial governor.”
Abdulqahar Balkhi an English speaking account associated with IE spokesperson Zabihulla Mujahid tweeted,
#Attention all Media. Blast inside a home in #Nangarhar killing several people has nothing to do the Mujahidin of IEA
Rahim Gul Sarwan, a journalist with VOA posted a photograph of Malik Osman who had allegedly lost a relative in the incident,
“Malak Osman, from Achen Shinwaries elder. he is the man who is against Taliban & IS in Nangarhar, he lost his son”
Malik Osman, the head of the family suffered injuries and has been flow to Kabul for treatment.
The San Francisco Chronicle stated,
“the family and guests had gathered to mark the release of another of Osman’s sons, Samiullah, eight months after he was kidnapped and held by the Taliban. Samiullah was wounded in the attack, but not seriously, according to Zabiullah Zamaray, another provincial council member.
The day before the attack, hundreds of residents of Achin district — where Shinwari’s nephew Nasim is governor — held a demonstration calling on authorities to rid the region of insurgents, including a newly formed Islamic State affiliate that recently seized parts of the province after a summer of fierce fighting with the Taliban.”
Men died where they sat (Image via Pajhwok)
Images from local media showed men at the residence in Jalalabad still seated on chairs amid the rubble. They had died where they sat. So far no-one has claimed responsibility for the attack. Islamic State did claim responsibility for a recent attack on the Pakistani Consulate in Jalalabad, see “Links” section.
Nangarhar has seen fierce fighting between the Taliban and Islamic State (Wilayat Khorasan) recently designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the US. Afghanistan is working to revive stalled “peace talks” with the Taliban alongside Pakistan, the United States and China. However Islamic Emirate do not appear engaged and their yearly Spring Offensive, Operation Azm has turned into year round fighting. Balkhi posted an article from IE…. the title did not boost optimism for talks any time soon,
“Islamic Emirate: Involvement of invaders in Helmand fighting is a new effort to derail peace
Balkhi also posted on a report detailing alleged government embezzlement of funds from foreign supporters on a massive scale, 21 billion dollars see following link,
“Islamic Emirate:Another government scandal”
https://activist1.wordpress.com/2016/01/17/islamic-emirate-another-government-scandal/
Links
“Afghanistan: Islamic State (Wilayat Khorasan) claim attack on Pakistani Consulate Jalalabad”
Carol Anne Grayson is an independent writer/researcher on global health/human rights/WOT and is Executive Producer of the Oscar nominated, Incident in New Baghdad. She is a Registered Mental Nurse with a Masters in Gender Culture and Development. Carol was awarded the ESRC, Michael Young Prize for Research 2009, and the COTT ‘Action = Life’ Human Rights Award’ for “upholding truth and justice”. She is also a survivor of US “collateral damage
Carol Anne Grayson (Radical Sister) blog 