KABUL (SW): President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani strongly condemned Monday’s terrorist attack on the parliament building that left all seven attackers dead, claimed the lives of five civilians and injured more than 30.
Eye witness said group of Taliban militants wished to enter the house via the western side and one of them blew himself up at the entrance in the early hours of the day. Multiple explosions were heard and the militants exchanged fire with the security forces for hours.
Siddique Siddiqui, Spokesman for the Ministry of Interior declared the situation clear in the afternoon. He said the attackers took cover in a nearby building and were shooting at the forces and on the house from there.
According to our reporter, the Wolesi Jirga (lower house of the parliament) was expecting Masoom Stanikzai, minister-designate for Defense to be introduced to house for the vote of confidence hence many Members of the Parliament MPs were present.
President Ghani called the Speaker Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi and inquired about his and the MPs state.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) strongly condemned the attack.
“The attack against Parliament, for which the Taliban have claimed responsibility, is a clear and deliberate affront to democracy in Afghanistan – an attack against the Afghan peoples’ democratically elected representatives," said Tadamichi Yamamoto, the Secretary-General's Deputy Special Representative for Afghanistan.
The attack on Parliament show blatant disrespect for democracy and the rule of law, the U.S. Embassy said while strongly condemning the attack. "We offer our sympathies to the people of Afghanistan and the Members of Parliament, who suffered as a result of this attack. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families at this time", a statement issued by the Embassy said.
The NATO-led Resolute Support Program joined President Ghani in condemning the attack.
“Once again, The Taliban has chosen to target innocent civilians,” said Brig. Gen. Wilson Shoffner, Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications. “We commend the Afghan Security Forces for their swift response that suppressed attackers and prevented further injury", he added.
On behalf of Gen. John Campbell and NATO Senior Civilian Representative Ambassador Ismail Aramaz, Resolute Support extended thoughts and prayers to the victims and the families affected by this act of violence.
Resolute Support expressed commitment to assisting Afghan partners in achieving sustainable security and stability.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condemned the attack.
"The attack on the Afghanistan Parliament is a despicable and cowardly act, there is no place for such attacks in a democracy, my prayers are with those injured”, the Indian PM said.
“We stand shoulder to shoulder with the people of Afghanistan in this hour", Modi added.
The Government of Pakistan also condemns the attack on the building of Wolesi Jirga in Kabul.
“We reaffirm our resolve to fight terrorism in close coordination with the Government of Afghanistan”, a statement issued by the Pakistani Embassy in Kabul said. “We stand with our Afghan brothers in our common struggle against terrorism”, it added.
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