Kabul: double suicide bombing kills dozens in Afghan capital
At least 25 people have died in a coordinated double suicide bombing that hit central Kabul on Monday morning.
Six journalists, including a camera operator for a local TV station and an Agence France-Presse photographer, were among those killed after the second bomber blew himself up among the rescue workers and reporters who had rushed to the scene of the first blast.
At least 45 people were wounded in the attacks, the police spokesman Hashmat Stanekzai said. Four police officers were among those killed. The first suicide bomber was on a motorbike, he added.
The attack was the latest in a string of deadly large-scale bombings and assaults that have struck the capital and other Afghan cities so far this year. Islamic State claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack on its Amaq propaganda news agency.
The blasts took place in the central Shash Darak area, where the Nato headquarters and a number of foreign embassies are based.
AFP reported that its chief photographer in Kabul, Shah Marai, was among those killed. Sediqullah Tawhidi, an official from the Afghan Journalist Safety Committee, said a camera operator from the local Tolo TV was killed.
Police said the second attacker held a camera and was pretending to be a journalist when he detonated his explosives.
Security officials have warned of the risk of increased attacks ahead of parliamentary elections planned for October.
The local Islamic State group affiliate and the more firmly established Taliban carry out regular attacks around the country, with the Taliban usually targeting the government and security forces and Isis targeting members of the Shia Muslim minority, whom the affiliate perceives as apostates.
The attacks underscore the struggles Afghan security forces have faced to rein in the militant groups since the US and Nato concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014.
Last week, an Isis suicide bomber attacked a voter registration centre in Kabul, killing 60 people and wounding at least 130. There were 22 women and eight children among the fatalities.
In March, an Isis suicide bomber targeted a Shia shrine in Kabul where people had gathered to celebrate the Persian new year. That attack killed 31 and wounded 65.
Associated Press in Kabul contributed to this report