Afghan's first Vice President Amrullah Saleh on Wednesday escaped a terrorist attack when his convoy was targeted in Kabul in an explosion that killed at least two people and wounded more than a dozen.
The attack comes just ahead of long-awaited peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban in Qatar’s capital of Doha. Razwan Murad, a spokesman for Saleh’s office said that the bomb was targeted at Saleh’s convoy in which some of his bodyguards were also injured.
"Today, once again the enemy of Afghanistan tried to harm Saleh, but they failed in their evil aim, and Saleh escaped the attack unharmed," Murad said. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
In his first television appearance following the blast, Saleh said that he was fine and had suffered only slight burns, AFP reported.
“Me and my younger son who was also with me are fine,” Saleh said in the footage. “I have slight burns on my face and hand from the wave of the blast. I don’t have exact details right now, but I apologize to those who suffered casualties and those who lost their property in the attack.”
Following the attack, Pakistan condemned the attack and said that it is a matter of relief that first VP remained unharmed.
"We extend heartfelt sympathies & condolences to bereaved families & pray for swift recovery of those wounded," Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri tweeted.