| 2007 Baghlan sugar factory bombing | |
| Location: | Baghlan, Afghanistan |
| Target: | Members of Parliament |
| Date: | November 6, 2007 |
| Type: | Suicide attack |
| Fatalities: | 72[1] |
| Perps: | Taliban, Islamic Party of Mullah Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, or independent jihadists (all suspected) |
The 2007 Baghlan sugar factory bombing occurred on November 6, 2007, when a bomb exploded in the centre of Baghlan, Afghanistan, while a delegation of parliamentarians was visiting, killing at least 72 people including several lawmakers.[1]
A ceremony was being held to re-open a sugar factory as part of a plan to improve and build the economy in the northeastern Baghlan province. Large groups of people, including children and elderly people were lined up to assist in the inauguration of the facility. It is widely believed that the blast was caused by a bomb full of ball-bearings. It is unlikely that a suicide attacker could cause such a massive carnage.
At least 75 people were killed or wounded severely in the massive bombing; the Associated Press reports that 64 were killed while a hospital in Baghlan mentioned that 90 bodies were sent to the hospital with 50 others wounded. An Afghan television station reported that at least 100 were killed.[2]
Six members of the Afghan parliament were killed in the blast, including key opposition figures. The lawmakers killed in the bombing were former Commerce Minister Sayed Mustafa Kazemi, the prominent private sector representative Hajji Muhammad Arif Zarif, as well as Abdul Mateen, Al Hajj Sahib Abdul-Rahman, Nazuk Mir Sarfaraz and Sebghatullah Zaki. All six were members of the ten-member Economics Committee of the National Assembly.[3]
It was reported that police officers, children and members of the Department of Agriculture were also killed. Other MPs were said to have been injured.[4] [5]
There was no claim of responsibility for the blast but there were about 120 suicide attacks in Afghanistan in 2007, most of them blamed on the Taliban movement. A spokesperson for the Interior Ministry blamed the attack on "the enemy of Afghanistan, the enemy of the people of Afghanistan" referring to the militant group. Following the bombing, a Taliban official dismissed any responsibility of the group for the incident. The attacks have worsened since the fall of the Taliban in 2001.[2] [6]
One person was arrested and questioned the following day. According to the BBC, several claims told that it was not a suicide attack and that it was possible a roadside bomb or a rocket attack.[7]
On the same day as the Baghlan bombings, Taliban rockets were fired at an Afghan base near Kandahar during a visit by Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay, injuring several soldiers. That incident was likely unrelated to the Baghlan bombing.[8]