Islamic State Claims Responsibilty For Twin Blasts That Rocked Kabul; 29 People Including 8 journalists Killed

Kabul, April 30: Twin explosions that rocked central Kabul on Monday morning resulted in the death of 29 people, including eight journalists. The explosions occurred near the country’s intelligence agency. According to media reports, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle blew himself up in the Shashdarak area near buildings of the NDS intelligence service. The second blast occurred shortly after that.

One of the journalists killed during the attack was renowned photojournalist, Shah Marai of French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP). The journalists were gathered at the spot to cover the first blast. The second blast occurred outside the headquarters of the Urban Development and Housing Ministry. The journalists died when a bomber disguised as a TV cameraman detonated a second bomb at the site of an earlier explosion. Islamic State has claimed the responsibility for the blasts. These blasts come days after Tabilan adopted an offensive approach against the Afghan governments call for terrorists to hold peace talks.

On April 22, a suicide blast killed 60 people and wounded at least 120 outside a voter-registration centre in Kabul. The Islamic State (IS) terrorist group also claimed responsibility for the last Sunday’s attack in Dashte Barchi which is a heavily Shi'a-populated area in western Kabul. IS claimed responsibility through its Amaq news agency. The Sunni group has frequently targeted Afghanistan’s Shi'ite minority, which they view as “apostates.” There has been a continuous battle between the Afghan government and Taliban militants, who were thrown out of power by the United States 17 years ago.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 30, 2018 03:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).