Islamic State claims bus attack

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN » The Islamic State took responsibility Sunday for a deadly roadside bombing against a bus belonging to a local TV station in the Afghan capital, while renewed fighting in nearby provinces killed at least seven civilians, including a woman and several children.

In a statement on an Islamic State-affiliated website, the group said Saturday’s attack in Kabul targeted a bus carrying employees of Khurshid TV, a station it described as “loyal to the Afghan apostate government.”

Two employees were killed and four wounded, said Marwa Amini, the Interior Ministry deputy spokeswoman. Two of the wounded were in critical condition Sunday, said Mohammad Rafi Sediqi, an official at the station.

The Taliban and the Islamic State are active in Kabul. Islamic State has claimed recent attacks on civilian targets, while the Taliban has taken responsibility for attacking military targets.

Islamic State has been increasingly active in Afghanistan after suffering battlefield losses in recent months to government and U.S. forces, as well as its Taliban rivals.

Another roadside bomb exploded in Kabul on Sunday as a police patrol was passing by, wounding three civilians, said Tariq Arian, the Interior Ministry spokesman. No one immediately claimed responsibly for the blast.

The attacks come after a truce expired between the Taliban and Afghan security forces for the threeday Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which ended Tuesday. The Taliban have claimed only one attack since then, and neither the Taliban insurgents nor the government appear to want a return to all-out fighting.

However, renewed violence elsewhere in the country killed at least seven civilians Saturday, officials said.

A mortar shell fired by Afghan forces killed at least four civilians when it hit a home in Maidan Wardak province, said Wahidullah Akberzia, a provincial council member. He said the Afghan convoy had come under attack from the village late Saturday and fired back, resulting in the civilian deaths, which included a woman and three children.

Local civilians protested the killings by carrying the bodies to the governor’s office on Sunday “to demand justice from the government,” Akberzia said, adding that two children had also been wounded. Maidan Wardak province borders Kabul to the west.