Afghan violence

KABUL, Afghanistan — A car bomb blast that rocked Afghanistan’s capital Sunday morning killed at least nine people, according to the Afghan Interior Ministry.

Interior Minister Masoud Andarabi told reporters at the site of the attack that the attack wounded around 20 others, including a member of parliament, Khan Mohammad Wardak. Andarabi said the lawmaker was in “good condition.”

The interior minister added that the casualty toll could rise further.

The attack happened while the lawmaker’s convey was passing through an intersection in Kabul’s Khoshal Khan neighborhood. The blast set afire surrounding civilian vehicles, as well as damaging nearby buildings and shops.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for rocket attacks Saturday at Bagram Airfield. There were no casualties in that assault, according to NATO and provincial officials.

A NATO official confirmed the attack and said initial reports indicated that the airfield was not damaged.

In another report from the southern Helmand province, the Afghan Defense Ministry in a statement confirmed that a suicide car bomber tried to attack an army checkpoint, but was identified and shot by soldiers.

Two soldiers were slightly wounded in the attempted assault in Nawa district, the ministry said.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack in Helmand.

(AP/Rahmat Gul) People look at a damaged car Sunday after a bombing attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry said that the blast killed at least eight people and wounded more than 15 others, including a member of parliament, Khan Mohammad Wardak.

(AP/Mukhtar Khan) A Kashmiri dhobi, or washerman, washes clothes Sunday as a boatman rows his boat on a cold day in Dal Lake in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir. The traditional 40-day long period of harsh winter in Kashmir known as “Chillai Kalan” begins today.