President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah on Friday condemned the suicide attack in Kashmir which left 40 Indian paramilitary police force members dead.

The attack was carried out by a vehicle filled with explosives which rammed a bus carrying the troops to Srinagar.

Pakistan-based Islamist group Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for the attack.

It is the deadliest militant attack on Indian forces in Kashmir since the insurgency against Indian rule began in 1989.

President Ashraf Ghani said in a statement that he strongly condemns the terrorist attack that targeted CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmir. 

“The government of Afghanistan expresses its sympathy and deep condolences to the Indian government and people, and the families of the soldiers who fell victim to the incident,” he said in the statement. “Terrorism is a cancer in the region, and it requires collective efforts to root it out.”

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah who addressed a ceremony on 30th anniversary of Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan condemned the Kashmir attack as well as the attack in Iran and called them terror acts. 

“We stand in solidarity with India and condemn the cowardly attack on CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmir,” Abdullah said. “Terrorists and their sponsors appropriating religious names to commit heinous crimes are but a disgrace to religion and humanity.”