KABUL: A bomb blast on a busy shopping street in the capital of Afghanistan Kabul On Saturday, at least eight people were killed and 22 injured, hospital officials and witnesses said.
The bomb exploded in a western district of the city where members of the minority Shi’ite Muslim community regularly meet. The Islamic State, a Sunni Muslim militant group, has claimed responsibility for the attack, the group said on its Telegram channel.
A senior medical officer at a private hospital said at least eight people had died and 22 were injured.
A Home Office spokesman said an investigation team was at the site of the blast to help the injured and assess casualties.
Video posted online shows ambulances rushing to the scene, which is also near bus stops.
The attack took place in front of Ashura, a commemoration of the martyrdom of Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, marked mainly by Shi’ite Muslims.
On Friday, at least eight people were killed and 18 injured in an explosion in Kabul carried out by the Islamic State.
The Islamic State does not control any territory in Afghanistan but it has cells that have attacked religious minorities in the country as well as patrols by the ruling Taliban.
The Sunni Muslim Taliban government, who took over Afghanistan last August after a two-decade-long insurgency, has said it will provide more protections for Shi’s mosques. ite and other establishments.
Sayed Kazum Hojat, a Shi’ite religious scholar in Kabul, said the Taliban government had increased security against Ashura but should raise vigilance.
No up-to-date census data are available, but estimates place the size of the Shi’ite community at around 10-20% of the population of 39 million, including Persian-speaking Tajiks and Pashtuns. as well as the Hazaras.
The bomb exploded in a western district of the city where members of the minority Shi’ite Muslim community regularly meet. The Islamic State, a Sunni Muslim militant group, has claimed responsibility for the attack, the group said on its Telegram channel.
A senior medical officer at a private hospital said at least eight people had died and 22 were injured.
A Home Office spokesman said an investigation team was at the site of the blast to help the injured and assess casualties.
Video posted online shows ambulances rushing to the scene, which is also near bus stops.
The attack took place in front of Ashura, a commemoration of the martyrdom of Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, marked mainly by Shi’ite Muslims.
On Friday, at least eight people were killed and 18 injured in an explosion in Kabul carried out by the Islamic State.
The Islamic State does not control any territory in Afghanistan but it has cells that have attacked religious minorities in the country as well as patrols by the ruling Taliban.
The Sunni Muslim Taliban government, who took over Afghanistan last August after a two-decade-long insurgency, has said it will provide more protections for Shi’s mosques. ite and other establishments.
Sayed Kazum Hojat, a Shi’ite religious scholar in Kabul, said the Taliban government had increased security against Ashura but should raise vigilance.
No up-to-date census data are available, but estimates place the size of the Shi’ite community at around 10-20% of the population of 39 million, including Persian-speaking Tajiks and Pashtuns. as well as the Hazaras.
