KABUL, MAY 01,
Monday’s attacks in Afghanistan, a week after 60 people were killed at a voter registration centre in the city, underlined mounting insecurity despite repeated government pledges to tighten defences.
“These attacks caused untold human suffering to Afghan families,” said Tadamichi Yamamoto, the top UN official in Afghanistan.
The attacks in rapid succession were a grim reminder of the strength of both the Taliban and Islamic State (IS)’s emerging Afghanistan branch to wreak violence despite stepped up U.S. air attacks under President Donald Trump’s new policy.
Taliban offensive
Taliban militants announced their usual spring offensive last week and there has been heavy fighting in several areas of the country since.
The Afghan Journalists Safety Committee (AFJSC) said nine journalists were killed in Kabul, the worst toll for media workers in a single attack in the country.
Afghanistan was already considered one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, with at least 20 killed last year. Last week, unidentified gunmen shot a journalist in the southern city of Kandahar.
