Loud explosion in Afghan capital, near Russian embassy

A suicide vehicle bomb attack close to the Russian Embassy in the Afghan capital, Kabul, has killed at least seven people and wounded around 25, an Afghan official said Wednesday.

The attack targeted staff from Afghan broadcaster Tolo TV and video production company Kaboora Productions.

An injured victim from yesterday’s suicide attack near the Russian…

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, in a statement sent to reporters shortly after the bombing, also accused Tolo of being a “spy agency” and warned others against indulging in such activities.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility on the attack.

The Taliban said they targeted Tolo TV, Afghanistan’s largest private television channel, because it was producing propaganda for the USA military and its allies.Tolo was attacked for “promoting obscenity, irreligiousness, foreign culture and nudity”, the Taliban said in a statement.

Witnesses near the scene of the bomb say at least two people burned to death in the bus while civilians nearby – including a child – were also killed.

It was not clear if the attack wounded any Afghan public officials or foreign diplomats. The emergence of a free and vibrant media is seen as one of the main achievements of post-Taliban Afghanistan.

The Islamic Emirate wants to clarify that the attack on Tolo was not an attack on the media but on an intelligence network opposing our national unity and our religious and national values.

Rahimi condemned the bombing, saying the media and freedom of the press should never come under attack.

“The targeting of journalists reflects a depraved strategy to make media freedom a casualty of the ongoing conflict”, said Patricia Gossman, senior Afghanistan researcher.

The relatively poor, war-torn nation of Afghanistan has been one such locale, with President Ashraf Ghani warning the U.S. Congress last March about the “terrible threat” the group poses to his country and its neighbors.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said all steps should be taken against those refusing to join peace process, including military force.