Sep 17, 2019

Taliban attacks kill at least 48 in Afghanistan after U.S. peace talks fail

Rashaan Ayesh

Relatives wait outside of a hospital in Afghanistan after a Taliban attack — Relatives of victims arrive outside a hospital after a suicide attack that targeted a campaign rally for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. Photo: Abdul Shahmim Tanha/AFP/Getty Images

The Taliban claimed responsibility for 2 attacks on Tuesday that killed at least 48 people and targeted Afghan President Ashraf Ghani — who was unharmed — at a campaign event, AP reports.

Why it matters: These are the deadliest attacks by the group since peace negotiations with the U.S. were abruptly called off by President Trump earlier this month. The Taliban has used attacks against the Afghan government and foreign forces to scare people from voting in the presidential elections at the end of the month, per Al-Jazeera.

The Taliban said they plan to target polling stations and campaign rallies, prompting some candidates to suspend their campaigns, per AP.

Details:

The first attack targeted Ghani's campaign rally in Chaikar, which is north of Kabul. At least 26 people died during this attack, with more than 40 wounded after a suicide bomber on a motorcycle targeted the entrance of the rally, according to Al-Jazeera.
The second attack occurred in Kabul near the U.S. embassy. The Taliban claims they were targeting an Afghan army base and killed 22 people in the bombing, per AP.

Go deeper: Trump says he called off secret meeting with Taliban in U.S. over Kabul blast

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Taliban attacks kill at least 48 in Afghanistan after U.S. peace talks fail

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