US Special Representative for Afghan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad on Thursday said that the Islamic State (IS) terror group had conducted two deadly attacks in Afghanistan earlier this week, which killed more than 50 civilians.
Taking to Twitter, Khalilzad said, “The USG has assessed ISIS-K conducted the horrific attacks on a maternity ward and a funeral earlier this week in Afghanistan”.
The terrorist group opposes a peace agreement between the Afghan government and the Taliban, he further added.
Earlier on Tuesday, at least dozens were killed and many injured in an explosion that took place near a hospital in Kabul.
24 people were dead and dozens more wounded in a suicide blast claimed by ISIL (ISIS) at a funeral in eastern Afghanistan, according to the local government, in one of two attacks to hit the country on Tuesday.
No group has claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attack.
This was the third consecutive day of blast rocking the Afghan capital.
However, after the attacks, Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani ordered national security forces to “end active defence position” and resume offensives on militant groups, including the Taliban.
On Monday, four back-to-back roadside bombs exploded in a northern district of Afghanistan’s capital Kabul that left four civilians injured.
Terrorists have carried out several roadside bombings and rocket attacks in Kabul and other parts of the country in recent weeks, but Monday’s four consecutive explosions appeared to be the first coordinated effort for some months.
The Taliban have carried out a deadly attack on Thursday an Afghan army base after the government ordered forces to resume strikes against the militants.
The US-Taliban deal signed in Qatar on February 29 calls for the release of up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners to open the way for intra-Afghan negotiations.
More than 10,000 civilians were killed or wounded in Afghanistan’s war last year, the United Nations announced Saturday, as a historic partial truce kicked in across the country. India did not recognise Afghanistan diplomatically when Taliban was ruling the country from 1996 to 2002.