Saleh calls on taxi drivers to check their vehicles

KABUL (Agencies): First Vice President Amrullah Saleh said on Thursday after his daily 6.30am security meeting, that taxi drivers in Kabul city might in future need to search their vehicles after passengers have disembarked. This comes after two passengers allegedly left an IED behind in a taxi.

The IED detonated close to the Serena Hotel in PD2. No casualties were reported as the taxi driver was able to jump out of the vehicle before the device exploded. Saleh meanwhile said taxi drivers need to be more vigilant and search passengers if needed and to make sure nothing is left behind in their vehicles when passengers disembark.

“Situation is not normal, we may be forced to ask taxi drivers to search the people who enter their vehicle,” said Saleh. He said some other countries had measures in place to deal with such situations, however the Afghan government has not yet implemented such controls.

“Other countries control cases by issuing limitations but the government has not implemented this so far,” added Saleh. Kabul was hit by a string of early morning explosions and another, the taxi incident, later in the day. In one of the explosions, the police chief for PD5 in Kabul was killed, along with three of his bodyguards.