Afghan authorities seize truck with 16 tons of explosives in Kabul

Afghan security personnel sit atop an armored vehicle amid an ongoing battle with Taliban militants in Gereshk district of Helmand province, July 22, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Afghan intelligence authorities have seized a truck in the capital Kabul carrying more than 16 tons of explosives hidden in boxes marked as poultry feed.

 Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security (NDS) said in a statement that the truck, with Pakistani license plates, was seized in District 9 of the capital on Sunday.

"It was loaded with explosives to make bombs, suicide vests and conduct terrorist activities in Kabul," the statement read. A total of 16,500 kilograms of explosives was seized, it added.

Afghan law enforcement agencies have detained at least five suspects in connection with the matter.

The seizure came months after a truck bomb blast killed about 150 people in Kabul. On May 31, the massive truck bomb ripped through the diplomatic quarter during the morning rush hour. The powerful explosion was caused by over 1,500 kilograms of explosives hidden in a sewage truck.

Afghan security forces and residents stand near the crater left by a truck bomb attack in Kabul, May 31, 2017. (Photo by AFP)

Afghanistan is still suffering from insecurity and violence years after the United States and its allies invaded the country in 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The military invasion removed the Taliban from power, but militancy still rages on in the country.

The United Nations’ figures show that over 26,500 civilians have been killed and nearly 49,000 have been injured as a result of ongoing violence in Afghanistan since January 2009.

In recent months, the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group, which is wreaking havoc mainly in Iraq and Syria, has been making inroads in Afghanistan through alliances with local militant outfits.