News
Latest News
news bulletin
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Other News
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Beirut
24
o
Mount Lebanon
25
o
Metn
25
o
Keserwan
25
o
North
25
o
South
23
o
Bekaa
18
o
Live
Video
Audio
Schedule
shows
العربية
watching now
Ramadan Talk
SUBSCRIBE
Home
Notification
Live
Video
Audio
shows
Beirut
24
o
Mount Lebanon
25
o
Metn
25
o
Keserwan
25
o
North
25
o
South
23
o
Bekaa
18
o
News
Programs
The News
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Programs
Documentaries
Lebanon’s Centennial
News Bulletin
The Untold History
Talk Show
Series
Sports
Variety
Other
Comedy
Oldies
Breaking News
Latest News
Highlighted News
Most Read
Videos
العربية
Watch the latest programs and the latest developments on your favorite screen
Shows
Join millions of followers
Who We Are
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Careers
Channel frequencies
Privacy Policy
Terms and Conditions
REPORT: Islamic State claims responsibility for Kabul attack, 80 dead
Breaking Headlines
2016-07-23 | 07:27
High views
Share
Share
4
min
REPORT: Islamic State claims responsibility for Kabul attack, 80 dead
Twin explosions tore through a demonstration by members of Afghanistan's mainly Shi'ite Hazara minority in Kabul on Saturday, killing at least 80 people and wounding more than 230 in a suicide attack claimed by Islamic State.
Graphic television footage from the site of the attack showed many dead bodies lying on the bloodied road, close to where thousands of Hazara had been demonstrating over the route of a planned multimillion dollar power line.
"Two fighters from Islamic State detonated explosive belts at a gathering of Shi'ites in the city of Kabul in Afghanistan," said a brief statement on the group's Amaq news agency.
If confirmed as the work of Islamic State, the attack would represent a major escalation for a group which has hitherto been largely confined to the eastern province of Nangarhar.
The explicit reference to the Hazara's Shi'ite religious affiliation also represents a menacing departure for Afghanistan, where the bloody sectarian rivalry between Sunni and Shi'ites typical of Iraq has been relatively rare, despite decades of war.
The Persian-speaking Hazara, estimated to make up about 9 percent of the population, are Afghanistan's third-largest minority but they have long suffered discrimination and thousands were killed during the period of Taliban rule.
"We were holding a peaceful demonstration when I heard a bang and then everyone was escaping and yelling," said Sabira Jan, a protestor who witnessed the attack and saw bloodied bodies strewn across the ground. "There was noone to help."
The Taliban, a fierce enemy of Islamic State, denied any involvement and said in a statement posted on its website that the attack was "a plot to ignite civil war".
The attack succeeded despite tight security which saw much of the city centre sealed off with stacks of shipping containers and other obstacles and helicopters patrolling overhead.
A statement from the interior ministry said 80 people had been killed and 231 wounded, making it among the deadliest single incidents since the Taliban were driven from power in the U.S.-led campaign in 2001.
The worst previous attack against the Hazara was in December 2011, when more than 55 people were killed in Kabul during the Shi'ite festival of Ashura. That attack was claimed by a Pakistani Sunni extremist group called Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
OUTRAGE
President Ashraf Ghani declared a national day of mourning and vowed revenge, while the top United Nations official in Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto, condemned the attack as a war crime. The United States offered any assistance needed to investigate the attack.
Saturday's demonstrators had been demanding that a 500 kV transmission line from Turkmenistan to Kabul be rerouted through two provinces with large Hazara populations, saying they feared being shut out of the project.
The government said the project guaranteed ample power to the provinces, Bamyan and Wardak, which lie west of Kabul, and that altering the planned route would delay it by years and cost millions of dollars. But the resentment felt by many Hazaras runs deeper than simple questions of energy supply.
In November, thousands of Hazara marched through Kabul to protest at government inaction after seven members of their community were beheaded by Islamist militants and several protestors briefly tried to force their way into the presidential palace.
The protests by a group whose leaders include members of the national unity government have put pressure on Ghani, who has faced growing opposition from both inside and outside the government.
They also risk exacerbating ethnic tensions with other groups and provinces the government says would have to wait up to three years for power if the route were changed.
The transmission line, intended to provide secure electricity to 10 provinces, is part of the so-called TUTAP project backed by the Asia Development Bank, linking energy-rich states of Central Asia with Afghanistan and Pakistan.
REUTERS
For more watch the full report in the video above
Breaking Headlines
Kabul
Explosion
Next
Grand Mufti Derian travels to Saudi Arabia for Hajj
Recommended For You
d-none hideMe
0
Lebanon News
13:35
Breaking news: Israeli aircraft hits cafe in Naqoura
Lebanon News
13:35
Breaking news: Israeli aircraft hits cafe in Naqoura
0
Sports News
2024-03-21
World Cup Asian qualifiers: Match between Lebanon and Australia ends with a 2-0 victory for the host, Australia
Sports News
2024-03-21
World Cup Asian qualifiers: Match between Lebanon and Australia ends with a 2-0 victory for the host, Australia
0
Sports News
2024-03-21
2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers: The match's first half ends with the Australian team leading the Lebanese team 1-0
Sports News
2024-03-21
2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers: The match's first half ends with the Australian team leading the Lebanese team 1-0
0
Lebanon News
2024-03-21
Israeli warplanes break sound barrier over Nabatieh and Iqlim al Tuffah, NNA reports
Lebanon News
2024-03-21
Israeli warplanes break sound barrier over Nabatieh and Iqlim al Tuffah, NNA reports
Subscribe to our VOD
SUBSCRIBE
Our visitors readings
d-none hideMe
0
Lebanon News
02:44
Ministry of Energy urges TotalEnergies to deliver Block 9 drilling results report: LBCI Sources confirm
Lebanon News
02:44
Ministry of Energy urges TotalEnergies to deliver Block 9 drilling results report: LBCI Sources confirm
0
News Bulletin Reports
2024-03-25
Safety concerns: Interference with Lebanon's navigation system causes 'panic' on flight to Beirut
News Bulletin Reports
2024-03-25
Safety concerns: Interference with Lebanon's navigation system causes 'panic' on flight to Beirut
0
Israel-Gaza War Updates
05:05
Over 1.1 million in Gaza face 'extreme' food insecurity: UN reports
Israel-Gaza War Updates
05:05
Over 1.1 million in Gaza face 'extreme' food insecurity: UN reports
0
Lebanon News
2023-10-20
LBCI's sources: There are no Hezbollah martyrs in today's Israeli bombing
Lebanon News
2023-10-20
LBCI's sources: There are no Hezbollah martyrs in today's Israeli bombing
Videos
d-none hideMe
0
Lebanon News
2023-12-11
Breaking: Israel launches raid north of Litani on Monday (Video)
Lebanon News
2023-12-11
Breaking: Israel launches raid north of Litani on Monday (Video)
0
Lebanon News
2023-11-02
Exclusive to LBCI: U.S. State Department's Wooster Stresses Lebanon Must Avoid War, Sees Renewed Push for Two-State Solution
Lebanon News
2023-11-02
Exclusive to LBCI: U.S. State Department's Wooster Stresses Lebanon Must Avoid War, Sees Renewed Push for Two-State Solution
0
Lebanon News
2023-10-18
Protests Erupt near US Embassy in Awkar Against Israeli Attacks on Al-Maamadani Hospital in Gaza
Lebanon News
2023-10-18
Protests Erupt near US Embassy in Awkar Against Israeli Attacks on Al-Maamadani Hospital in Gaza
0
Lebanon News
2023-10-05
ATFL's Ambassador Edward Gabriel on Navigating Through Economic, Political, and Refugee Crises
Lebanon News
2023-10-05
ATFL's Ambassador Edward Gabriel on Navigating Through Economic, Political, and Refugee Crises
0
Sports News
2023-08-31
Amir Saoud Powers Lebanon to Victory Over Cote d'Ivoire: A Deep Dive Into The Numbers
Sports News
2023-08-31
Amir Saoud Powers Lebanon to Victory Over Cote d'Ivoire: A Deep Dive Into The Numbers
0
Sports News
2023-08-29
France Edges Past Lebanon in a Nail-Biter at FIBA World Cup 2023: A Statistical Deep Dive
Sports News
2023-08-29
France Edges Past Lebanon in a Nail-Biter at FIBA World Cup 2023: A Statistical Deep Dive
0
Lebanon News
2019-02-28
Pierre el-Daher, the man who defeated the Lebanese Forces
Lebanon News
2019-02-28
Pierre el-Daher, the man who defeated the Lebanese Forces
Most read
d-none hideMe
24 hours
7 days
Month
1
Lebanon News
14:25
Five killed, including Hezbollah fighters, in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon: Reuters sources
Lebanon News
14:25
Five killed, including Hezbollah fighters, in an Israeli strike in southern Lebanon: Reuters sources
2
Lebanon News
13:35
Breaking news: Israeli aircraft hits cafe in Naqoura
Lebanon News
13:35
Breaking news: Israeli aircraft hits cafe in Naqoura
3
News Bulletin Reports
13:41
Calm shattered: Israeli attack kills seven paramedics in Habbariyeh - Here are the details
News Bulletin Reports
13:41
Calm shattered: Israeli attack kills seven paramedics in Habbariyeh - Here are the details
4
Lebanon News
15:39
At least eight fatalities reported in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, according to Reuters sources
Lebanon News
15:39
At least eight fatalities reported in Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon, according to Reuters sources
5
Lebanon News
02:44
Ministry of Energy urges TotalEnergies to deliver Block 9 drilling results report: LBCI Sources confirm
Lebanon News
02:44
Ministry of Energy urges TotalEnergies to deliver Block 9 drilling results report: LBCI Sources confirm
6
Lebanon News
13:59
LBCI sources affirm 'positive advancements' in US-mediated talks for Lebanon-Israel conflict resolution
Lebanon News
13:59
LBCI sources affirm 'positive advancements' in US-mediated talks for Lebanon-Israel conflict resolution
7
Israel-Gaza War Updates
05:05
Over 1.1 million in Gaza face 'extreme' food insecurity: UN reports
Israel-Gaza War Updates
05:05
Over 1.1 million in Gaza face 'extreme' food insecurity: UN reports
8
Lebanon News
07:51
Lebanon's springtime splendor: A journey through nature's canvas in pictures
Lebanon News
07:51
Lebanon's springtime splendor: A journey through nature's canvas in pictures
Download now the LBCI mobile app
To see the latest news, the latest daily programs in Lebanon and the world
Google Play
App Store
We use
cookies
We use
cookies
to make
your experience on this
website better.
Accept
Learn More