Skip to main content

Kabul blast felt like an earthquake, say witnesses


People at site of huge blast that
killed at least 80 people describe
scenes of confusion and large-
scale destruction.

Witnesses described scenes of panic, confusion and destruction following a devastating bomb blast at Kabul's diplomatic quarter that killed scores of people and wounded hundreds. "[I have] not heard something this big before", Fatima Faizi, a Kabul resident, told Al Jazeera, minutes after the blast
on Wednesday.
At the Wazir Akhbar Khan hospital,
there were scenes of chaos as
ambulances brought in wounded and frantic relatives scanned casualty lists and questioned hospital staff for news.
"I couldn't think clearly, there was a
mess everywhere," Nabib Ahmad, who was lightly hurt, told the Reuters news agency.
A suspected truck bomb ripped
through the heart of Kabul's diplomatic area in a "earthquake-like" blast described by officials as "one of the biggest" to have hit the city. At least 80 people were killed killed and more than 300 wounded.
Kabul residents said the explosion was so powerful it could be felt throughout the Afghan capital.
"I was just 500m from the location of.the explosion and it was so heavy that in every part of Kabul, people thought as if it was next to them," Mushtaq Rahim, an independent analyst and security commentator, told Al Jazeera.
"It was pretty strong. It felt like a
tremor, like an earthquake in many
parts of the city. As soon as the blast went off, one could see a huge amount of smoke coming from the area," Rahim added.
Mohammad Hassan, who worked at a bank near the site of the blast, also
said the explosion felt "like an earthquake". He suffered from a head wound.
The explosion went off at rush hour
near Zanbaq square, in Kabul's 10th
district, close to shops and restaurants, as well as government offices and foreign embassies.
Social media reacts to Kabul bomb blast Faizi said the explosion "was so loud that it shattered" all the windows in her home.
Source: Aljazzera news

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Yahaya Bello Won A War Not An Election – Kogi PDP Chieftain

The Spokesperson of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Campaign Council, Kogi State, Faruk Adejoh-Audu says he cannot congratulate Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello because Kogi State was turned into a war field during the Saturday election.Adejoh-Audu said the election was marred by violence, claiming that nine PDP members were killed during the election.He also explained how the PDP women leader of Ochadamu Ward in Ofu Local Government Area, Salome Abuh, was burnt to death in her home by political thugs.“I will have congratulated Governor Yahaya Bello but unfortunately, I cannot because he won no election. What he won was a war waged by him and the Nigerian Police, so I cannot congratulate him.“His claim that there were just pockets of violence is incorrect. There is hardly any ward in Kogi State except a few that did not experience violence.“Violence is not necessarily when people die, but in this case, people died. At least nine people died, all of them were PDP members. The 10th pe...

Nine-Year-Old Belgian Prodigy Set For University Degree In Electrical Engineering

Belgian student Laurent Simons, 9 years old, poses during a photo session at his home on November 21, 2019 in Amsterdam. Laurent Simons is studying electrical engineering at the Eindhoven University of Technology and is on course to finish his degree in December.Like many other nine-year-olds, Laurent Simons likes TV and his pet dog. But he also wants to make artificial organs and is about to get the qualifications to set him on his way.The Belgian boy will in December receive a degree in electrical engineering from the Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, which will make him one of the world’s youngest graduates.Far from being fazed by his achievements, which also saw him complete the course in just nine months instead of the usual three years, Laurent says it’s “normal” — although he adds too that it’s “cool.”“I’m currently studying electrical engineering. It’s about designing circuits and things like that. So chips, actually,” the mop-haired youngster told AFP in t...

Senate passes finance bill to raise VAT from 5 to 7.5 percent

The Senate on Thursday passed the Finance Bill presented to it by President Muhammadu Buhari to raise the country’s Value Added Tax(VAT) from 5 to 7.5 percent.The bill has five strategic objectives of promoting fiscal equity, reforming domestic tax laws and raising revenue.The Bill is entitled, ” A Bill for an Act to Make for incremental changes to Nigeria Tax and Fiscal Law and for Other Related Matters therewith, 2019( SB 140).The Amendments carried out were a total of fifty-six amendments of different existing Acts which include: Company Tax; Petroleum Profit Tax; Capital Gains Tax; Stamp Duty Tax; Personal Income tax and Customs and Excise Duty.According to the Bill, a large sum of money realized from the taxation would go the states and local governments while fifteen percent will go the Federal Government.The Finance Bill was read the third time and passed after the consideration of the report of the Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, All ...