Afghan security forces havedetained five insurgents in the capital, Kabul, with 10,000 kilograms of explosives they intented to use in multiple attacks in crowded areas, an intelligence agency spokesman said today.
"If this amount of explosives had been used, it could have caused large-scale bloodshed," National Directorate of Security spokesman Shafiqullah Nazari said.
He said three of the men datained were Pakistani citizens, while two were Afghans.
The explosives were found stuffed into 400 bags and hidden under piles of potatoes in the back of a truck on the city
outskirts.
The men had received training from members of the Pakistani Taliban, who have strong links with the Afghan
Taliban.
Afghan officials have long accused Pakistan of using insurgent groups like the Afghan Taliban as proxies in
Afghanistan. Pakistan's government denies supporting or giving sanctuary to insurgents on its territory.
Insurgents this week launched a coordinated assault on four provinces, targeting diplomatic and government areas of Kabul with rockets and gunfire in what they said was retaliation for abuses of Afghans by US soldiers.
The attacks showed the insurgency's resilience nearly 11 years since the Afghan Taliban were toppled.The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks and said it planned similar assaults in coming months.
Reuters