Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s office attacked in Kabul, two injured

KABUL: Two people were injured on Friday in an attack in Kabul near the office of the Hezb-e-Islami party associated with former Afghan prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, but all the senior leaders were safe, the party said in a statement.

Multiple attackers were killed and several guards injured in the incident, according to three Hezb-e-Islami sources and one source with the ruling Taliban.

Kabul police and the interior ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack.

The incident took place on the same day as Pakistan’s prime minister condemned what he said was an assassination attempt on the country’s Head of Mission in Kabul. Taliban authorities did not immediately respond to request for comment.

The attack on the Hezb-e-Islami party office occurred near a mosque where senior party leaders were present, but all – including Hekmatyar – were unscathed, according to the party statement and his grandson, Obaidullah Baheer.

“All respected authorities, including the respected leader, are safe and sound … two senior guards from the leader’s support unit were superficially injured and no one else was injured,” the statement said.

One Taliban and one party source said a vehicle belonging to the attackers and packed with explosives had detonated near the office. Firing took place and two attackers were killed while trying to enter the mosque, they said.