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25 killed in IS-claimed twin blasts in Kabul

April 30, 2018 15:56 IST
IMAGE: Afghan security forces stand guard near the site of a blast in Kabul on Monday. Photograph: Omar Sobhani/Reuters

At least 25 people, including six journalists, were killed and many others injured in twin suicide explosions that rocked Kabul's Shash Darak area on Monday.

The first explosion was followed by another in which a journalist died and two police officers were injured, local authorities said.

 

The attacks, claimed by the Islamic State group, are the latest deadly assaults on the Afghan capital and have spurred an outpouring of grief among journalists, many of whom took to Twitter to post tributes to their colleagues.

Local media quoted Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai, who confirmed the explosions, saying that the first bomber was on a motorbike and the second on foot.

"The bomber disguised himself as a journalist and detonated himself among the crowd," he said.

The interior ministry confirmed the death toll and said six journalists were among those killed. It also said 49 people had been wounded

Stanikzai further revealed that the second attacker was among reporters who had gathered at the scene to cover the attack.

The first blast came shortly before 8 am (local time) near the headquarters of the Afghan intelligence services, when a motorcyclist detonated his explosives, the interior ministry said.

It comes days after the Taliban kicked off their spring offensive in an apparent rejection of calls for the terrorists to take up the Afghan government's offer of peace talks.

A series of deadly terrorist attacks have ravaged Afghanistan over the past few months, killing over 200 people, especially in the capital, Kabul.

With inputs from agencies.

Source: ANI