Kabul: A bomb explodes in a busy shopping street in the capital of Afghanistan Kabul Hospital officials and eyewitnesses said at least eight people died and 22 were injured on Saturday.
The bomb exploded in a western district of the city, where members of the minority Shia Muslim community regularly meet. Islamic State, a Sunni Muslim terrorist group, claimed responsibility for the attack, the group said on its Telegram channel.
A senior medical officer of a private hospital said at least eight people died and 22 were injured.
A Home Ministry spokesman said an investigation team was at the blast site to assist the injured and assess the casualties.
Video footage posted online showed ambulances rushing to the scene, which is also near bus stations.
The attack took place before Ashura in memory of the martyrdom of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, which is mainly marked by Shia Muslims.
At least eight people were killed and 18 injured in an explosion by Islamic State in Kabul on Friday.
Islamic State does not control any territory in Afghanistan, but it does have sleeper cells that are attacking religious minorities in the country as well as patrols by the ruling Taliban.
Sunni Muslim Taliban officials, who occupied Afghanistan in August last year after two decades of insurgency, have said they would provide more security for Shia mosques and other facilities.
Syed Kazum Hojat, a Shia religious scholar in Kabul, said the Taliban government had increased security before Ashura, but vigilance should improve.
No up-to-date census data exists, but the size of the Shia community is estimated to be between 10–20% of the population of 39 million, which includes Persian-speaking Tajiks and Pashtuns as well as Hazaras.
The bomb exploded in a western district of the city, where members of the minority Shia Muslim community regularly meet. Islamic State, a Sunni Muslim terrorist group, claimed responsibility for the attack, the group said on its Telegram channel.
A senior medical officer of a private hospital said at least eight people died and 22 were injured.
A Home Ministry spokesman said an investigation team was at the blast site to assist the injured and assess the casualties.
Video footage posted online showed ambulances rushing to the scene, which is also near bus stations.
The attack took place before Ashura in memory of the martyrdom of Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, which is mainly marked by Shia Muslims.
At least eight people were killed and 18 injured in an explosion by Islamic State in Kabul on Friday.
Islamic State does not control any territory in Afghanistan, but it does have sleeper cells that are attacking religious minorities in the country as well as patrols by the ruling Taliban.
Sunni Muslim Taliban officials, who occupied Afghanistan in August last year after two decades of insurgency, have said they would provide more security for Shia mosques and other facilities.
Syed Kazum Hojat, a Shia religious scholar in Kabul, said the Taliban government had increased security before Ashura, but vigilance should improve.
No up-to-date census data exists, but the size of the Shia community is estimated to be between 10–20% of the population of 39 million, which includes Persian-speaking Tajiks and Pashtuns as well as Hazaras.