1 killed in bomb blast claimed by ISIS in Afghanistan's capital Kabul

One person was killed and three others were injured in a blast in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Saturday evening, said Afghan police.

The terrorist group ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack. The Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP), the affiliate of the ISIS targeting primarily Central Asia, is active in Afghanistan.

The AFP reported that the blast involved an improvised explosive device (IED) which was detonated in the Kot-e-Sangi neighbourhood, near an enclave of the historically persecuted Shia Hazara community, which has been frequently targeted by ISIS in the past.

“The sticky bomb was planted on a minibus. The driver of the vehicle lost his life, and three other civilians were injured,” Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran was quoted as saying in the report.

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The report said that the IED used was a ‘sticky bomb’. A sticky bomb is one that can be attached to vehicles and detonated either through a timer or a remote-controlled detonator. The assailants may ‘stick’ the bomb to the vehicle while driving by in traffic and no one in the vicinity may realise that a bomb has been stuck to a vehicle around them. This stealth factor leads to the lethality of this type of bomb.

Zadran further said that security personnel were investigating the incident.

In a post on its Telegram channel, the ISIS said that a minibus carrying Hazaras was blown up as it passed through a Taliban checkpoint, according to the report. The group further said that the attack “led to its destruction and the killing and wounding of around 10” people.

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While the bombings and suicide attacks in Afghanistan have reduced dramatically since August 2021 when the Taliban overthrew the internationally-recognised and democratically-elected government in Kabul and ended its insurgency, groups like ISIS have remained a threat and have carried out frequent attacks. These attacks have often targeted non-Sunni religious and sectarian minorities in Afghanistan, such as Hazaras.

Just last month, an ISIS suicide bombing struck a bank. While the Taliban regime said three people were killed, AFP quoted sources as saying that 20 people were killed in the blast.