3 killed in attack on Kabul commemorations
KABUL: A bomber on a motorbike blew himself up near a convoy of gunmen commemorating the death anniversary of a famed resistance leader in Kabul on Sunday, killing at least three people, officials said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest deadly attack in the Afghan capital that comes days after a double bombing at a wrestling club killed at least 26 people.
Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai said at least three people were killed and 14 wounded in the explosion that shattered windows and shook nearby buildings in the Afghan capital.
Among the dead was the driver of a car taking part in the commemorations. He veered off the road and into the front of a shop when the blast happened, witnesses said. Two of his passengers were wounded, they said. Health ministry spokesman Waheed Majroh said two people had been killed and 10 wounded in the blast.
Afghan officials often give conflicting figures for the number of casualties in the immediate aftermath of an attack.
Afghan security forces said earlier they had shot dead a man who had been planning to blow himself up near supporters of Ahmad Shah Massoud.
The Tajik commander led resistance to the Soviet occupation in the 1980s and to the 1996-2001 Taliban regime.
The attack came as convoys of gunwielding men terrorised Kabul as they commemorated the 17th anniversary of Massoud’s death.
Massoud was killed two days before the 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington that precipitated the Us-led invasion of Afghanistan.
Dozens of cars and pickups carrying men armed with heavy weapons and waving flags drove around the city, blaring loud sirens. AFP journalists could hear frequent bursts of gunfire.
At least 13 people were wounded by falling bullets, Majroh told journalists.
On the other side of the country, Taliban fighters attacked a checkpoint in Obe district in Herat province, killing nine members of the security forces, provincial governor spokesman Jailani Farhad said.
Five others were wounded in the overnight attack.