Power supply restored in Kabul, other Afghan provinces after ISIL bomb blast hit main line
The explosion occurred in a region located on the northern outskirts of Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, and targeted the power pylon, thereby cutting the main line and plunging the city in complete darkness.
Power supply in as many as 12 provinces in Afghanistan, including Kabul, has been restored after days of disruption caused by the destruction of a power pylon on Thursday. The power pylon was destructed in a bomb blast, Xinhua reported citing the Afghan national power company’s statement. Terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the explosion.
“The Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) personnel completed the restoration of a destroyed electricity tower in Qala-e-Muradbig area of Kabul province at midday on Sunday…The power supply is now back to normal,” the company’s statement read.
The explosion took place in a region located on the northern outskirts of Afghanistan’s Kabul. The destruction of the power pylon cut the main power supply line to Kabul, thereby leaving the city in complete darkness. Additionally, Afghanistan has been facing power shortages for some time now, and has imported electricity from multiple neighbouring nations, including Tajikistan, Iran, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, among others, Xinhua reported. Owing to the blast, the supply line distributing imported electricity to Kabul was cut.
Meanwhile, the Taliban said that they have arrested three people in the power pylon blast case so far.
This latest attack is among several similar ones that the Islamic State has been carrying out in Afghanistan since the country was recaptured by the Taliban from the United States after two decades. The Islamic State also claimed responsibility for a suicide bomb blast of a Shiite Mosque in Kandahar, which took the lives of 60 people. The terrorist group later issued a threat to Shia Muslims as well, saying that they will be targeted everywhere – from their homes to centres.
