Kabul: Just before Ashraf Ghani was to take oath as the new Afghan President at Kabul’s presidential palace, a suicide blast targeted a security checkpoint near Kabul airport, killing four, reports said.
According to Massoud Hossaini , who works for the Associated Press, the blast occurred near the first entrance of Kabul airport.
The blast highlights how grave a security challenge awaits Afghanistan as it enters a new era with the swearing-in of Ashraf Ghani, in the first democratic transition of power in the country.
Ironically, the explosion occurred even as the newly sworn-in President Ghani was speaking about peace, in his first address as President.
“We are tired of wars. We want peace,” Ghani said.
Technocrat Ghani succeeds Hamid Karzai at a time when the US-led troops are set to withdraw by the end of this year, ending the thirteen years of war against insurgency, leaving the huge onus of country’s security on Afghan forces, even as Taliban is trying its best to rear its ugly head again, by attempting attacks.
