BEIRUT, Oct 23 ― The Islamic State militant group's Afghan branch yesterday said it was behind an explosion that brought down electricity lines and plunged Kabul into darkness.
The power cut on Thursday was a further blow to Taliban efforts to stabilise Afghanistan two months after they seized control.
In a statement published on its Telegram channels, Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) said “the soldiers of the caliphate detonated a bomb on an electricity pylon in Kabul” to damage the electricity sector.
The explosion hit a high-voltage line supplying imported power to Kabul and some other provinces.
Afghanistan is largely reliant on electricity imported from its northern neighbours Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, making cross-country power lines a prime target for insurgents.
The Taliban has promised to fight IS-K but the group has continued to carry out devastating atrocities.
Earlier this week, IS-K said it was behind a suicide bombing of a Shiah mosque in the southern city of Kandahar on October 15 that killed 60 people. ― AFP
