Islamic State group claims deadly Kabul bomb blast

The Islamic State group has claimed a bombing on a minibus that killed one person and wounded 11 in a Shiite-dominated neighborhood of the Afghan capital.

The jihadist group said on its Telegram channel late Sunday that “one Shiite was killed in a bombing by Caliphate soldiers in the Afghan capital.”

Kabul police said on Sunday the blast occurred in a western Kabul neighborhood home to many Shiite Muslims, a historically persecuted minority in Afghanistan and a frequent target of the Islamic State group that considers them heretics.

Italian nongovernmental organization Emergency NGO, which operates a hospital in Kabul, said on social media platform X that it had received eight people wounded in the blast, with seven in need of surgery and one “in a serious condition.”

The number of deadly bomb blasts and suicide attacks in Afghanistan has declined markedly since the Taliban ended their insurgency after seizing power in August 2021. However, a number of armed groups, including Islamic State-Khorasan, remain a threat.

Islamic State-Khorasan, or IS-K, is the group’s Afghanistan branch, “Khorasan” referring to a historical region that included parts of Iran, Afghanistan and Central Asia.

The group also claimed an attack targeting tourists in Afghanistan in May that killed six people, including three foreigners.