SEVEN people died and 20 others were injured in a bus explosion in the Afghan capital yesterday, police said.

Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said the explosion occurred in the capital’s Dasht-e-Barchi neighbourhood – an enclave of the historically oppressed Shia Hazara community.

The Islamic State (IS) group later claimed the attack – its second targeting the Shia neighborhood in a matter of weeks.

“An explosion occurred in a bus carrying civilian passengers in the Dasht-e-Barchi area of Kabul, unfortunately seven of our compatriots were martyred and 20 others were injured,” Zadran said in a post on social media site X.

Security personnel were on site and had begun investigating, he added.

The IS-affiliated news outlet Amaq later announced its fighters had “detonated an explosive device” on a bus carrying Shia in west Kabul, according to the SITE Intelligence Group.

In late October, the group also claimed a deadly explosion in a sports club in the same neighbourhood.

Taliban authorities said four people were killed and seven injured in that blast.

The number of bomb blasts and suicide attacks has reduced dramatically since the Taliban ended its insurgency after seizing power in August 2021, ousting the US-backed government.

However, a number of armed groups – including the regional chapter of IS – remain a threat. – AFP, November 8, 2023.