Multiple Rockets Fired Near Afghan Presidential Palace

Kabul police reported that several rockets were fired on Tuesday, August 30, coinciding with the Eid al-Adha celebrations in Afghanistan, landing near the presidential palace and the diplomatic area in Kabul. However, there have been no reports yet regarding casualties or injuries from these explosions. Concurrently, it was reported that an attack by three armed men on the Eidgah Mosque in Kabul ended with the death of all three attackers, and two police officers were injured in the incident. No group has claimed responsibility for these attacks. Regarding the explosions on Monday, Reuters quoted an unnamed Afghan security official stating that the cause of the explosions was rocket fire from a location outside Kabul, with some rockets detonating near the presidential palace, diplomatic compounds, and government buildings. According to official statements, at least 12 rockets were fired into the area, with one exploding near the presidential palace and another near NATO headquarters and the U.S. embassy in Kabul. During the rocket attack, President Ashraf Ghani was delivering a speech at a special Eid al-Adha ceremony. In his initial response to the attack, he stated in his speech, 'If they think they can bring Afghanistan to its knees with rocket attacks, they are mistaken.' He added that these attacks and the ongoing violence from certain groups will not hinder the progress of the Afghan people. Just two days prior, the Afghan president announced a conditional ceasefire with the Taliban, which was set to begin on Monday, August 29, for a duration of three months, provided that the Taliban also agreed to it. However, on the very day the ceasefire was supposed to take effect, the Taliban rejected Ghani's offer through two senior commanders after taking 200 passengers hostage from a bus convoy in northern Afghanistan, stating that they would continue their attacks against the Afghan government and its foreign allies. If the Taliban had accepted the ceasefire proposal, it would have been the second nationwide ceasefire in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001. Previously, Afghanistan had only witnessed a three-day ceasefire in June of this year. In June, the U.S. government announced a significant policy shift, stating that it was willing to negotiate with the Taliban without the participation of the Afghan government, and a Taliban source had told AFP last month that representatives of the group had met with U.S. officials in Qatar. Thus, prior to the violent clashes in Ghazni last week, it seemed that diplomatic efforts to create a dialogue framework had somewhat borne fruit.