News / Afghanistan

Afghanistan's capital hit by coordinated bombings

Wednesday, 09 May 2018 10:03 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 09 May 2018 11:06 AM ]

Afghan security forces arrive at the site of a bombing in Kabul on May 9, 2018. (Photo by AP)

Militants have engaged in a gunfight with police after setting off at least three explosions in two districts of Afghanistan's capital, Kabul.

At least six people were wounded in the violence, Afghan Health Ministry spokesman Wahidullah Majroh, said on Wednesday. He added that the casualty toll would likely go up.

Officials said an unknown number of militants launched the apparently coordinated bomb attacks on two police stations at about noon and were still barricaded in occupied buildings near the sites of the bombings.

Spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry Najib Danish said police were battling gunmen in both Dasht-e-Barchi and Shar-e-Naw districts.
"A number of gunmen at both sites under attack are engaged with the security forces."

"At both sites the insurgents took positions in nearby buildings," he added.

The first blast was near a police station in western Kabul's Dasht-e-Barchi district at around midday, said police spokesman Hashmat Stanekzai. Minutes later, two back-to-back explosions went off in the central commercial district of Shar-e-Naw.

Noor Mohammad, a security guard at a private bank at Shar-e-Naw, said one blast went off near the office of a travel agency that processes visa applications for India.

A senior official at the Indian embassy confirmed that one blast took place outside a travel company's office and many security guards were injured.

The Takfiri Daesh terror group claimed responsibility for the assault in Dasht-e-Barchi through its propaganda outlet.

Daesh Takfiri terrorists and Taliban militants are active throughout most of the impoverished war-stricken country.

Washington and its allies invaded Afghanistan some 17 years ago. The ongoing war has failed to bring stability to the country despite the presence of thousands of foreign forces.

People are seen at the site of a bombing outside a voter registration center in Kabul, Afghanistan, April 22, 2018. (Photo by AFP)

In past weeks, the Afghan capital has seen an increase in violence after Taliban announced the beginning of their annual spring offensive. Twin blasts in Kabul on April 30 killed more than two dozen people.

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