Protest near site of Kabul bombing turns deadly
Violence broke out in Kabul Friday after hundreds of protesters gathered near the site of this week's car bomb attack to demand the resignation of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's government. At least 7 were killed and several wounded, demonstrators told CBS News.
On Wednesday, at least 90 people were killed and hundreds wounded when a sewage tanker packed with explosives blew up near the entrance to Kabul's secure Green Zone area in what was the city's deadliest attack since 2001.
Afghan security forces fired weapons into the air to hold the demonstrators back as they approached the Presidential Palace, some throwing rocks. Police used water hoses to disperse the crowds.
The protesters accused Afghan president Ashraf Ghani and his chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah of being responsible for the attack, with some demanding that the government execute prisoners from the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani network, which intelligence officials blamed for the bombing. They installed a tent and said they would block a main road until their demands were met.
One sign showed images of bloodstained children and read "Ghani! Abdullah! Resign! Resign!" Reuters reported.
Some protesters were chanting, "Death to America, Pakistan, Ghani, Abdullah."
Despite it's relatively moderate size, the protest highlighted a growing public anger towards the government for failing to ensure public security nearly three years after most international troops left the country.
"Enough is enough," demonstrator Niloofar Nilgoon told Reuters. "Every day our young soldiers and police are dying and you are trying to hold on to power," she said.
Protester Amir Arya said a number of his friends were wounded by police as they tried to block the protesters from advancing.
"Some of them were beaten by police with sticks and some others detained," he said. "This act of police and government proves that peaceful demonstration would not be useful anymore."
Most of the casualties from Wednesday's massive truck bombing were civilians, including women and children, officials have said. But the dead also included Afghan security guards at facilities including the U.S. Embassy, and 11 American contractors were wounded - none with life-threatening injuries, a U.S. State Department official said.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, which came in the first week of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.