Twin Blasts Rock Kabul Killing 23 Including One Journalist

Kabul, April 30: Two explosions have rocked central Kabul on Monday morning. The explosions occurred near the country’s intelligence agency, killing at least 23 people, including a journalist. 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.

French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) confirmed that one of its photographers had been killed in the second blast. The journalists were gathered at the spot to cover the first blast. AFP reported that Shah Marai, a photographer for the agency, was the journalist killed in the blast. The second blast occurred outside the headquarters of the Urban Development and Housing Ministry. No terrorist group has claimed the responsibility of 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) militant group 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. (With Agency Inputs.)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 30, 2018 12:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).