Amrullah Saleh
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
November 14, 2020
Afghan forces have captured the “mastermind” of a deadly terrorist attack on Kabul University that came amid a rise in violence across the country, a senior official said on November 14.
At least 22 people were killed and another 27 wounded when three gunmen rampaged through the university on November 2, spraying classrooms with bullets for several hours.
“The mastermind behind the Kabul University attack has been arrested,” Vice President Amrullah Saleh said on his Facebook page.
The attack, which ended after the three attackers were killed in an hours-long battle with security forces, was planned by a militant called Adil, Saleh said.
Adil was recruited by the Haqqani network, Saleh said, giving only one name of the arrested suspect.
Haqqani network, a key Taliban faction, is believed to have been behind some of the deadliest attacks on Afghan and international forces, as well as Afghan civilians. It has been branded as a terrorist group by Washington.
“The attack was carried out to pressure, defame, and make the government look weak in front of the people,” Saleh added.
Adil, a resident of the Panjshir Valley, had been a student of the Islamic Shari’a law, he said, adding that his family lives on the outskirts of Kabul.
“Adil had been missing for three years amid rumors that he had gone to receive training in war and fighting,” Saleh said.
During his questioning, Adil said that he had received weapons from the Haqqani network to carry out the attack, Saleh added.
The extremist group Islamic State (IS) had claimed responsibility for the attack on Kabul University, which was the second on an educational institution in the Afghan capital. An attack late last month on an education center in Kabul killed 24 people, mostly students.
Last year, a bomb outside the gates of Kabul University killed eight people.
Violence has continued in Afghanistan even as the Taliban and a government-appointed negotiating team hold talks in Qatar to end more than four decades of war in the country.
A U.S. deal with the Taliban in February set the stage for the talks in Doha. The deal also allows for the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan.
With reporting by AFP and TOLOnews