The Taliban government on Friday blamed Pakistan for striking the Afghan capital and bombing a market in the country’s east, accusing its neighbor of violating national airspace,
AP reports.
A blast struck before 10 p.m. local time on Thursday in the Abdul Haq Square area of Kabul, close to several ministries and the national intelligence agency. Security forces sealed off the site.
The government’s chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said at the time that there were no reports of injuries or damage. He described the explosion as an accident and said an investigation was underway.
But Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said Friday that Pakistan was responsible for that attack and for another, in the eastern province of Paktika.
Afghan’s Defense Ministry didn’t say what the source of the bombing was or how Pakistan was able to carry out a strike in an urban center without being shot down.
Pakistan has, in the past, launched strikes inside Afghan territory to target what it says are militant hideouts and installations.
Pakistani Army spokesman Ahmad Sharif was asked at a news conference Friday if the military had attacked Afghanistan to target leaders of the banned Pakistani Taliban group. Sharif didn’t give a direct answer to the question.
