Massoud Hossaini/AP Afghan men carries an injured man to a hospital after a suicide attack near the Russian embassy in Kabul.
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The 24-hour broadcaster had received threats from the Taliban last October after its reports of abuses by Taliban fighters during the battle for Kunduz, the IFJ reported.
Under its late leader Osama bin Laden, al Qaeda long called the mountainous Asian nation its home, and it continues to have a presence there, as illustrated by last fall’s joint U.S.-Afghan dismantling of training sites in southern Afghanistan. Tolo TV, another MOBY channel is wildly popular and broadcasts, among other commercial programming, Afghan Star.
The quadrilateral mechanism of Afghanistan, China, Pakistan and the United States is now discussing a roadmap to restart the peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban groups.
Kabul police chief Gen. Abdul Rahman Rahimi said that the attackers had driven a auto packed with explosives into the minibus, causing the explosion.
The assault on Tolo, a privately run news and entertainment station often critical of the militants, marks the first major attack on an Afghan media organisation since the Taliban were ousted from power in 2001.
The European Union’s mission in Afghanistan, which along with the US mission is a strong advocate of media freedom in Afghanistan, called it a “horrific crime and an indefensible attack on a civilian target and a clear violation of global law”.
Since the beginning of 2016, the city has been hit by at least six bomb attacks – in the most recent, on Sunday, a rocket landed near the Italian embassy, wounding two security guards.
A statement from the embassy said killing those who worked to enlighten, educate and entertain would not stop the Afghans from exercising their universal human right to freedom of expression.
The Taliban on Thursday said it is not specifically targeting media as part of a widening insurgency, but warned organizations they should not align themselves with Tolo.
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Afghan President Ashraf Ghani immediately condemned the attack in a statement, according to Tolo News.
