Move FM Global News

KABUL, Afghanistan – A UN vehicle came under attack in Afghanistan on Sunday.

The attack took place in the capital Kabul on a road frequently used by UN workers travelling between central Kabul and the headquarters of the UN Mission in Afghanistan, UNAMA.

A UN vehicle plastered with visible UN markings was struck by a grenade. One UN worker was killed in the attack. Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi confirmed 5 others, including two Afghan UN workers, were wounded in the attack.

The vehicle was heavily damaged.

UNAMA condemned the attack later on Sunday in a statement it released. The mission also called on the Afghan authorities to swiftly investigate, and bring the perpetrators to justice.

The UN Secretary-General Antnio Guterres also condemned rthe attack and who called on the authorities to “spare no effort in identifying and swiftly bringing to justice” those responsible.

Elsewhere, in the central Daykundi Province, at least eight soldiers were killed when Taliban militants stormed their checkpoint, according to provincial governor Anwar Rahmati. He said four other soldiers were wounded in the hours-long gun battle, Gandhara said in a report.

As talks proceed between U.S. government officials and the Taliban there has been no let-up in the violence. In fact it has escalated ikn recent weeks and months. Civilian casualties are now at record levels. In October, UNAMA published a report showing that, in the first nine months of the year, more than 8,000 civilians were victims of violence, with July the bloodiest month on record.

October also saw eighty-five people killed, and another 373 injured, in election-related violence, as part of what the head of UNAMA, Tadamichi Yamamoto, declared a “deliberate campaign of violence intended to undermine the electoral process.”

The UNAMA statement noted that, at this time, and in the immediate future, neither the identity of the UN worker who was killed, nor those injured, will be released. At the time of writing, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

(File photo).