Assassination attempt on Afghan vice president thwarted

Intelligence authorities in war-ravaged Afghanistan say they have foiled a plot to kill Afghan First Vice President Abdul Rashid Dustom in the country’s northern province of Jawzjan.

Afghanistan’s intelligence service, the National Directorate of Security (NDS), said a bomber sought to assassinate the 61-year-old former warlord during a sports event in the province.

The NDS further noted that the assailant had placed explosives in his horse’s saddle bag.

The development comes months after Afghan intelligence forces arrested four terrorists who had allegedly planned to kill Dustom.

According to an investigation, the militants, among them bombers, wanted to murder the Afghan first vice president in the 5th police district of the capital, Kabul, last November, only two months after he was appointed to the post.

No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the assassination bids, but such attempts bear the hallmarks of those made by Taliban militants against Afghan officials.

The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed Taliban from power, but insecurity still remains in some provinces.

The US-led combat mission in Afghanistan ended on December 31, 2014. However, at least 13,500 foreign forces, mainly from the United States, have remained in the country in what Washington calls a support mission.

NATO says the forces will focus mainly on counterterrorism operations and training Afghan soldiers and policemen.