Suicide bomber targets Kabul airport minutes after vice president's arrival

Vice president Abdul Rashid Dostum returned to the country after having stayed in Turkey since May of 2017 when he had been accused of arranging the rape and torture of a political rival. It is not yet clear if the explosion at the airport was a revenge act.

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At least 16 people were killed and many injured after a suicide bomber targeted the international airport in Kabul on Sunday evening, minutes after the country's vice president Abdul Rashid Dostum had arrived here.

Local media reports stated that while Dostum's convoy and the vice president himself escaped unharmed, there was utter chaos just outside the airport with dead bodies and debris all around. It is also reported that the explosion occurred just as Dostum left the airport premises in a heavily armoured vehicle.

There was a large presence of civilians at the airport, many of whom had come to greet Dostum who was returning in a chartered flight after having stayed in Turkey since May of last year. He had left Afghanistan after he was accused of arranging the rape and torture of a political rival.

While local police officials are not yet sure if Sunday's explosion was an act of revenge, priority is being given to get the injured to hospitals nearby. No terror organisation has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.