By Ankit Panda
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) carried out its first major attack on Afghan soil.
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS, also known as the Islamic State, and Daesh) claimed responsibility for a major suicide bomb attack, which took place on Saturday and killed 35 people and injured over 100 others, in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Shahidullah Shahid, ISIS’ alleged spokesperson in the region, claimed responsibility for the attack, according to Afghanistan’s Pajhwok News.
The Afghan and Pakistani Taliban claimed no responsibility for the attacks, and some affiliated groups, including Jamaat-ul-Ahrar outright condemned the suicide attack.
The target of the attack were Afghan government and military staff who were, according to the Independent, “waiting outside a bank to collect their monthly salaries.”
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack as a “cowardly and heinous” attack. Ghani further accused the ISIS terrorists of escalating a proxy war on Afghan soil. Vowing to retaliate against ISIS in Afghanistan, Ghani noted that “this nation does not bow to threats and dangers … [Afghanistan] will fight them to the end.”
Read the full story at The Diplomat