Tuesday’s deadly attack in 14th Street in Wazir Akbar Khan’s Green Zone, which killed nine people, was carried out by a 13-year-old boy who gained access through an adjacent park, security sources confirmed.
According to the sources, one of the gates that leads to 14th Street, which was always kept locked, was recently opened by guards working in the area who used it as a short cut to the main road.
The Green Zone is a highly fortified area that is enclosed by high T-walls and gun turrets. Limited access points are heavily guarded and only people living and working in the area are allowed to enter.
The area houses numerous embassies, guesthouses for foreigners and some private companies and a few government offices.
However, Tuesday’s suicide bomber was able to access the area from the main Wazir Akbar Khan road.
Atiqullah an employee at a private company in the area said: “The attack happened when a senior official was driving through the area. We were standing close to the blast scene. When we tried to get closer to the site of the blast security forces stopped us so we returned to our office.”
Another Kabul resident who works in the area, Khudai Nazar said: “We were among those who arrived at the scene immediately after the blast. We saw many dead and wounded and we helped take them to hospital.”
The infiltration of a suicide bomber into the highly fortified area has raised many concerns among MPs and officials.
Some blamed the intelligence agencies for the incident saying that often they have information on attacks that are planned but that they fail to prevent them from happening.
One MP Abdulhai Akhundazada said: “There is a weakness in our intelligence agencies and this is resulting in such attacks.”
Meanwhile the Ministry of Interior’s spokesman, Najib Danish, said the ministry has all measures in place to prevent such attacks “but these areas have some weak points and the enemy is using these gaps in its favor.”
Kabul has witnessed numerous attacks in the past few weeks including suicide bombings and rocket attacks as well as an attack on a mosque – resulting the death of over 200 people.