Afghan forces have captured the "
brains
" of two violent attacks on an educational center and a university in Kabul that killed nearly 50 people, authorities said on Saturday (November 14th).
Read also: Attack in Kabul University: at least 22 dead
Mohammad Adel organized an attack on November 2 on Kabul University - where he had studied - and a suicide bombing on an educational center in October.
At least 22 people were killed and 27 others injured when three gunmen stormed Kabul University for hours, going from room to room in search of victims.
The attack came just days after 24 people were killed in a suicide bombing near the Kawsar-e Danish Education Center, a facility providing training for students.
The massacres come as violence has only escalated across Afghanistan in recent months, despite the opening of peace talks in Doha between the Taliban and the government in September.
According to the National Security Directorate (NDS), the Afghan intelligence service, “
NDS special forces captured Mohammad Adel, the main mastermind (of the attacks) of Kabul University and Kawsar Education Center, in an operation targeted in Kabul
”.
The NDS did not specify the date of the operation.
Mohammad Adel was a former student of Kabul University, a security source told AFP.
According to the NDS, he admitted during questioning that he was the one who suggested the attack on the university, as it "
would receive wide (media) coverage and put pressure on the government
."
"
The attack was carried out in order to defame and put pressure on the government, as well as to make it
appear
weak in front of the people,
" Vice President Amrullah Saleh wrote on his Facebook page on Saturday.
However, it was the jihadist group Islamic State which claimed responsibility for the two massacres.