At least 5 killed in attacks against passenger vehicles in Kabul
Kabul, Nov 17 (EFE).- At least five people were killed and four others injured on Wednesday in two separate attacks against passenger vans in he Afghan capital in districts mainly inhabited by the Shia minority, which has been frequently targeted by the Islamic State terror group.
The first attack was carried out by a bomb attached to a passenger van, apparently carrying only civilians, early in the evening in the police district-13, interior ministry spokesperson Qari Sayeed Khosti told EFE.
Several witnesses at the site told EFE that four people had been killed in the explosion and two injured, although Khosti said that one person had been killed and six others wounded.
An hour later, a second attack took place in the nearby police district-3 in a similar fashion, with another explosive device attached to a passenger van, according to regional police chief Qari Ahmad.
He told EFE that one person was killed in this attack and two others were wounded.
An eyewitness said that the number of casualties could be higher.
“I was near the explosion, I exactly don’t know how many persons were in the Townace (van) but the it was completely destroyed and the passengers were killed,” Reza Rezayee told EFE, adding that security forces had cordoned off the area after the attack and were not allowing anyone to go near it.
So far no group has claimed responsibility for he attack, although in the past the IS has claimed a series of attacks targeting the minority Shia Hazara community, who they consider apostates.
Last month, suicide bombings struck Shia mosques in the Kunduz and Kandahar provinces respectively on successive Fridays – Oct. 8 and 15 – killing at least 80 and 60 people, and wounding over 100.
The terror groups has stepped up its attacks in Afghanistan as the United States pulled out its troops from the country, with the largest attack targeting the Kabul airport on Aug 26, killing more than 170 people.
The Taliban have launched a series of operations across the country, claiming to have killed or arrested dozens of militants in at least 8 of the country’s 34 provinces. EFE
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