KABUL (AA) – Afghanistan's intelligence agency on Wednesday claimed it had arrested a Taliban fighter who had allegedly planned to carry out a suicide attack in Kabul on the first day of the Eid al-Adha holiday.
"Hazratullah has already admitted that he was trained in Waziristan, a tribal area of Pakistan, and wanted to conduct a suicide attack during Eid," the Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS) alleged in a press release.
It went on to suggest that the suspect had also admitted that Arabs, Pakistanis and Uzbeks had trained him for 35 days inside Pakistani territory.
The NDS claimed that the suspect had been recruited by someone named Abdullah, who it described as having been "responsible for recruiting suicide bombers for the Taliban's Haqqani Network."
"Hazratullah was told to carry out the suicide attack in a crowded place during Eid-al-Adha prayers on the first day [of the holiday]," the statement read.
The NDS' claims, however, could not be independently verified.
Dozens of Afghans have been killed in suicide and bomb attacks during Eid celebrations in recent years.
Last year, at least 41 people were killed and 50 injured in a suicide attack on the first day of Eid.
The suicide bomber had targeted worshippers gathered at a mosque in Maymana, capital of Afghanistan's Faryab province.
And during this year's Eid al-Fitr, a bomb planted at a graveyard killed 14 members of the same family, all women and children.
Afghan families typically visit the graves of deceased loved ones during the Eid holiday.
No individuals or groups have ever claimed responsibility for the Eid attacks.
by Zubair Babakarkhail
englishnews@aa.com.tr
