UNSC condemns attacks in Afghanistan

The UN Security Council on Tuesday condemned the two attacks in Afghanistan earlier in the day, which killed scores of civilians including children.

The 15-member UN body “condemned in the strongest terms” the suicide attack in the eastern province of Paktika, which reportedly killed 89 and injured many others, as well as a targeted attack in the capital city Kabul. Taliban has claimed responsibility for the latter attack.

A vehicle packed with explosives was detonated at a busy market in the district of Urgun in Paktika. The death toll made it the worst single attack this year. No group has claimed responsibility for it yet.

The council expressed its serious concern about the threats posed by Taliban, al-Qaida and other terrorist and extremist groups, reaffirming that “terrorism in all its forms and manifestations is criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of its motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed.”