Militants launched a mortar attack on Thursday on a gathering attended by many key Afghan government leaders, including the nation’s former president.
The attack in Kabul, involving as many as 10 mortar shells, targeted a political rally attended by hundreds of ethnic Hazara, as well as the government’s CEO Abdullah Abdullah, former president Hamid Karzai, and presidential candidate Haneef Atmar, media reports said.
It was not immediately clear how many participants were killed or wounded. None of the senior politicians were hurt, Tolo News said.
The militants attacked the gathering from inside a compound in the western outskirts of Kabul, according to a Tweet by Gen. Khoshal Sadat, a deputy minister for the nation’s Internior ministry.
“Police will take strict actions,” Sadat tweeted, adding the attackers are now surrounded.
The attack comes as Taliban leaders believe a deal for the withdrawal for foreign troops is near, said a report in British internet outlet theArticle by Lynn O’Donnell, a longtime analyst of Afghan affairs.
The report from Doha quotes Taliban leaders who stated their pivotal demand — that U.S. forces leave Afghanistan — had already been agreed to.