Officials said a series of rockets hit the densely populated areas of Kabul on Saturday, killing at least eight people, marking the recent violent attacks sweeping the Afghan capital.
The volley hit various places in central and northern Kabul-including the solid green areas adjacent to embassies and international companies-before about 9:00 am (0430 GMT).
“This morning, the terrorists fired 14 rockets on the city of Kabul,” interior ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said.
Photos and videos circulating online showed damage to the walls and windows of several buildings, including large medical institutions.
No organization immediately claimed the explosion, and the Taliban denied responsibility.
The recent large-scale attacks in Kabul, including two terrorist attacks on educational institutions in recent weeks, killed nearly 50 people. Since then, the Taliban denied taking similar actions. The Afghan government attributed the blame to them or their agents, while the Taliban denied any involvement.
“The rocket attack in Kabul city has nothing to do with the mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said, using the insurgents name for Afghanistan.
“We do not blindly fire on public places.”
The Taliban are under pressure not to attack urban areas, having pledged not to do so under the terms of a US withdrawal deal signed in February.
In theory, any admission of suspicion of such incidents could slow down the pace of U.S. withdrawal, although the outgoing U.S. President Donald Trump has made it clear that he wants U.S. troops to withdraw regardless of local conditions.
The Islamic State Group claimed to have carried out two attacks on the education center, but Kabul said that the Taliban’s ultraviolent Haqqani network was the cause of this situation.
