Organizer of Kabul’s Eid rocket attack arrested

Kabul police said Sunday the mastermind behind the rocket attack on Eid al-Adha has been arrested by the police’s Special Forces unit.

According to the ministry of interior (MoI), the suspects were detained in PD5 in Kabul city.

“During a targeted operation in Kabul’s PD5, special police forces arrested a key member of the Taliban who had planned and organized a rocket attack on worshipers on Eid al-Adha,” the MoI said in a statement.

The ministry said that in addition to the arrest of the mastermind of the rocket attack, three other people were also arrested during the operation.

“They were actively involved in planning and launching terrorist attacks in different parts of Kabul city, especially in Paghman district,” the MoI statement read.

The ministry said two mobile phones and some documents were also seized.

Three rockets landed close to the Presidential Palace in Kabul city during Eid al-Adha prayers on Tuesday.

The rockets landed outside the palace at around 8 am on the first day of Eid while President Ashraf Ghani and high-ranking officials were participating in a prayer ceremony in the grounds of the palace.

Mirwais Stanekzai, a spokesman for the MoI, said later that day the first rocket hit close to the Edgar mosque, the second one landed close to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the third one landed in the Chaman-e-Hozori area of the city.

He said that the rockets were fired from the Parwan-e-Se area of Kabul.

The Taliban denied responsibility for the attacks.