By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
March 23,2024
Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers have issued a stark condemnation of the March 22 attack on a Moscow concert venue that left at least 115 dead and wounded more than 100 others. The Taliban Foreign Ministry “condemns in the strongest terms the recent terrorist attack in Moscow… claimed by Daesh & considers it a blatant violation of all human standards,” ministry spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi wrote on X, formerly Twitter, referring to the Islamic State (IS) extremist organization by its Arabic acronym. IS has staged frequent attacks in Afghanistan since the return of the Taliban to power in 2021. On March 21, IS claimed an attack that killed 19 Taliban employees outside a bank in Kandahar.