A BOMB exploded and killed two people in a Shia neighbourhood of Kabul yesterday, police said, with the Islamic State group claiming the blast – the second targeting the Afghan minority in as many days.

The explosion, which came ahead of the major Shia mourning ritual of Ashura on Monday, also wounded 22 others, police spokesman Khalid Zadran said in a statement to journalists.

“The explosives were kept in a roadside pot” in a west Kabul neighbourhood, he said, adding that one of the wounded was in a critical condition.

The blast was claimed by the Sunni jihadist Islamic State (IS) group, which said its “soldiers detonated an explosive device” targeting Shias, according to jihadist monitor SITE.

On Friday, eight people were killed and 18 others were wounded when a bomb attached to a handcart exploded in a Shia area in west Kabul. 

IS also claimed that attack.

The number of violent public attacks across the country has fallen since the Taliban returned to power in August last year, but IS has continued to target Shias, whom it views as heretics.

The minority group makes up about 10-20% of Afghanistan’s population of 38 million.

Taliban officials insist their forces have defeated IS, but analysts say the jihadist group remains a key security challenge. – AFP, August 7, 2022.