World

Islamic State claims responsibility for deadly minibus explosion in Kabul

The so-called Islamic State group (IS) has claimed responsibility for a minibus explosion in the Afghan capital that killed at least seven people.

The Sunni militant group said its members detonated an explosive device on the bus carrying Shia Muslims on Tuesday.

Afghan police said 20 others were injured in the attack in Kabul’s western Shia area of Dashti Barchi.

The bombing was the second such attack to have struck the area in as many weeks.

Afghanistan blast
Taliban security personnel stand guard at a checkpoint near the scene of a bomb explosion (AP)

Four people were killed and seven were hurt hen an explosion hit a sports club in the neighbourhood on October 26.

IS also claimed responsibility for that attack.

The Dashti Barchi area of Kabul has been repeatedly targeted by IS’s affiliate in Afghanistan. The group has carried out major assaults on schools, hospitals and mosques, and has also attacked other Shia areas across the country.

The IS affiliate is mainly based in Afghanistan’s eastern Nangarhar province and has been a major rival of the Taliban since the Sunni group seized control of Afghanistan in August 2021.

IS militants have struck in Kabul, in northern provinces and especially wherever there are Shias, whom IS considers to be apostates.