Female Afghan MP Survives Suicide Car Attack That Killed 3 Civilians In Kabul

A prominent female member of the Afghan parliament survived a deadly suicide car bomb attack, which killed three civilians and injured 22 others on Sunday.

Shukria Barakzai, a well-known campaigner for women’s rights in Afghanistan and an ally of the new Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, suffered small injuries in the attack, which was targeted at her convoy near the parliament in Kabul. A suicide bomber blew up an explosives-packed car badly damaging Barakzai's vehicle, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported, adding that there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast.

“(She) is fine and suffers small injuries,” Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for the interior ministry, confirmed on Twitter. “Three people (were) martyred and 22 people injured.”

According to media reports, Barakzai was travelling with other lawmakers in a convoy toward the parliament when a car tried to smash into her vehicle and detonated explosives. Barakzai had previously spoken about receiving regular death threats.

Sunday’s blast followed Ghani’s two-day visit to Pakistan, which has been blamed for sheltering rebels that are allegedly responsible for many of the attacks in Afghanistan. Ghani issued a statement condemning the attack on Barakzai as a “heinous act against all Islamic and Afghani values,” AFP reported.

Sunday’s incident occurred a week after a suicide bomber entered the offices of Kabul's police chief, killing a senior officer and wounding six other people.