26 July 2017•Update: 26 July 2017
By Shadi Khan Saif
KABUL, Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s top spy agency Wednesday claimed to have thwarted an attempt to carry out another massive truck bombing in the capital Kabul.
According to a statement issued by Afghanistan National Directorate for Security (ANDS), up to 2,500 kilograms (5,511 pounds) of explosives were placed in a mini truck that was destined for the capital city.
The truck was intercepted in Kabul’s Char Asiab district before it could enter Kabul, the statement said.
The agency claimed the truck was prepared for an enormous suicide bombing in Kabul by a Taliban militant commander named Nasrullah alias Hazefa in south eastern Logar province.
The Taliban have not commented on the development.
This came as a new deadly wave of large-scale armed clashes between the militants and the government forces, and bomb blasts have swept the country.
At least three districts have fallen to the Taliban in a week’s time, dozens of security personnel and more than 200 militants have been confirmed dead in these clashes since Wednesday.
The Afghan government had promised sweeping reforms in the security sector, and major overhaul in Kabul security plan after a massive truck bombing in the diplomatic corridor on May 31 that killed more than 150 people.
Still, the militants managed to carry out a suicide car bombing, targeting the government employees in Kabul on Monday that killed at least 24 people and left over 40 injured.
