Afghanistan Supreme Court Bombing (2017)
The Afghanistan Supreme Court bombing on February 7, 2017, was a devastating attack that targeted the Supreme Court building in Kabul. A suicide bomber detonated explosives near the court's parking lot, resulting in the deaths of at least twenty individuals and injuries to numerous others, including women and children. The terrorist organization Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed responsibility for this attack shortly after it occurred, although Afghan authorities were unable to independently verify this claim. The bombing was part of a broader trend of escalating violence in Afghanistan, with both ISIS and the Taliban actively conducting attacks against government institutions and personnel. This incident followed a series of attacks earlier in January 2017, including bombings linked to the Taliban. The ongoing conflict in Afghanistan has seen both groups striving to destabilize the government, which has been under increasing pressure since the withdrawal of most international troops in 2014. The Supreme Court bombing highlighted the precarious security situation in the country and the persistent threat posed by extremist groups.
Afghanistan Supreme Court Bombing (2017)
Date: February 7, 2017
Place: Kabul, Afghanistan
Summary
The Afghanistan Supreme Court bombing in February 2017 was a bomb attack targeting the Supreme Court building in Kabul, Afghanistan. The terrorist organization Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) later claimed responsibility for the attack.
Key Events
- January 10, 2017—Multiple bombings occur in Kabul and Lashkar Gah that are linked to the Taliban.
- February 7, 2017—Suicide bomber targets the Afghan Supreme Court building in Kabul, killing at least twenty and injuring at least forty.
- March 8, 2017—Militants using suicide vests and automatic weapons attack Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan military hospital in Kabul, killing at least fifty people.
Status
As of March 2017, the Taliban remains the most influential radical organization operating in Afghanistan, though the rival group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which is largely based in Syria, has been increasingly linked to terrorist attacks in Afghanistan. After a drastic reduction of troops in 2014, the United States has an estimated nine thousand military personnel in Afghanistan, primarily working in an advisory, training capacity for Afghan military and security forces.
On March 8, a group of militants allegedly linked to ISIS attacked the Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan military hospital in Kabul, reportedly infiltrating the building by posing as employees. Once inside, the militants opened fire on civilians and employees of the hospital and detonated suicide bombs, killing at least fifty people in an attack that lasted for several hours. Though ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, Afghan officials announced that an investigation would be conducted into the claim, as some were skeptical that the group could have carried out an attack of that scale in Afghanistan.
In-Depth Overview
The government of Afghanistan has been struggling against terrorist violence since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, which removed the radical Islamist Taliban government from power. Since then, the Taliban has become a militant network that launches attacks against governmental, police, and civilian targets. Since 2014, the rival radical organization known as ISIS has also been active in Afghanistan, developing a special branch operating in the country and attacking governmental and civilian targets as well. ISIS is a conservative, antimodernist organization founded in Syria that seeks to create a global Islamic caliphate based in Syria. The goals of ISIS differ from those of the Taliban, which seeks to create a new government in Afghanistan under a unique brand of conservative Islamic law and led by the nation's native Pashtun ethnic group.
The US-led war in Afghanistan officially ended in 2014, with the withdrawal of most US troops stationed in the nation. Since then, both the Taliban and ISIS have increased their efforts to destabilize the government in hopes of a future coup. Since 2014, the Taliban has repeatedly fought the government for control of territory in the provinces of Kunduz and Helmand, forcing government forces to fight insurgencies on multiple fronts. While engaging the Afghan government with paramilitary forces, the Taliban also uses small groups of fighters, suicide bombers, and explosives to attack targets in and around the capital of Kabul.
On February 7, 2017, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive outside the Supreme Court building in central Kabul. The attack occurred around 3:45 p.m. local time, and witnesses said the bomber detonated his explosives in the area of the parking lot near an outside door where employees of the court frequently leave after their workday. The number of casualties was disputed between police and health officials, with sources placing the number between thirteen and twenty-two killed and between thirty and fifty wounded. Wahidullah Mayar, public relations advisor for the Afghan Ministry of Public Health, told reporters that some women and children were among the victims. Afghan authorities did not release the names of any judicial officials killed or wounded in the attack. ISIS released a statement claiming responsibility for the attack the following day; authorities, however, were unable to verify the claim. Afghan president Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack.
Both the Taliban and ISIS have targeted police and legal personnel in Afghanistan. The Afghan Supreme Court in Kabul was also targeted in 2013, when a suicide bomber used a car packed with explosives to attack buses carrying judges and other court officials. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the 2013 attack, as well as a 2015 attack on a bus in Kabul that killed five prosecutors from the attorney general's office. The February 7 attack on the Supreme Court was one of several terrorist attacks that occurred in 2017. The first terrorist attack of the year occurred in January, when a twin suicide bombing targeting the National Assembly of Afghanistan in Kabul killed over thirty people and injured more than seventy.
Key Figures
Ashraf Ghani: President of Afghanistan.
Bibliography
Hanna, J., Popalzai, E., & Sterling, J. (2017, January 11). Dozens killed in Kabul suicide bombings, Kandahar blast. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/10/asia/afghanistan-violence/
Harooni, M. (2017, February 7). At least 20 dead in bomb blast outside Afghan Supreme Court. Reuters. Retrieved from http://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-blast-idUSKBN15M17K
Mashal, M., & Abed, F. (2017, February 7). Bombing near Afghan Supreme Court in Kabul kills and wounds dozens. TheNew York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/07/world/asia/afghanistan-suicide-bombing-supreme-court.html
Popalzai, E., & Narayan, C. (2017, February 8). 20 dead in suicide blast outside Afghan Supreme Court in Kabul. CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2017/02/07/world/afghanistan-explosion/
Rasmussen, S. E. (2017, February 7). Dozens killed in suicide blast at Afghanistan's Supreme Court. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/07/dozens-killed-in-suicide-blast-at-afghanistans-supreme-court