At least two killed in blast in Shiite district of Kabul


KABUL, Afghanistan – At least two people were killed and five wounded in a bomb blast that hit a minibus in the Afghan capital on Wednesday, officials said, the latest jihadist-claimed attack in Kabul.

AFP/ MANILA BULLETIN

The blast destroyed the vehicle in Dasht-e-Barchi, a Taliban official told AFP, in a suburb dominated by minority Hazara Shiites.

"Our initial information shows the bomb was attached to a minibus. We have launched an investigation," he said.

Different Taliban officials gave varying accounts of the casualties.

An AFP staffer was near the scene when the bomb detonated.

"I heard a huge explosion... when I looked around a minibus and a taxi were on fire," he said.

"I also saw ambulances rush to the area to take wounded and dead people to the hospital."

The Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K) claimed responsibility, saying on its Telegram channel that two separate explosions "killed and wounded more than 20 apostates".

IS uses the term to refer to Shiites.

Last week, a journalist was killed and at least four other people were injured when a bomb destroyed another minibus in the same area, in an attack also claimed by IS-K.

The jihadists have stepped up operations since the Taliban's return to power in August, and earlier this month raided the city's National Military Hospital, killing at least 19 people and injuring more than 50 others.

The group has also claimed several attacks in the city of Jalalabad, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province and a hotbed of IS-K activity.