Two more killed as Afghan capital reels under near-daily violence

At least two people, including a local police chief, have been killed after multiple bomb blasts rocked the Afghan capital, officials said.

Police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz told reporters that two people were killed and another wounded in their vehicle by a bomb in downtown Kabul early on Wednesday.

Interior ministry spokesman Tariq Arian told AFP news agency one of those killed was a district police chief in the capital.

An AFP photographer at the scene said the bomb ripped through the rear of what appeared to be an armoured vehicle.

Minutes earlier, another blast targeting a vehicle in the same district wounded four people, Faramarz added.

A third blast targeted a police vehicle in Paghman district on the outskirts of Kabul.

Authorities did not say if the blasts were caused by so-called “sticky bombs” attached to the vehicles, or roadside improvised explosive devices.

The latest violence in Kabul follows a pattern of attacks during morning rush-hour traffic targeting prominent Afghans, including politicians, journalists, activists and judges.

Wednesday’s blasts come a day after four government employees were shot dead in an ambush in the capital, while four police officers were killed in another attack in western Herat province.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Afghan and US officials have blamed the Taliban for the wave of violence, but the group has denied the charges.

The surge in violence comes as peace talks that started in September between the Taliban and the Afghan government in Qatar have yet to achieve a breakthrough.

Government negotiators are pushing for a permanent ceasefire, but the Taliban has so far dismissed calls for a truce.

The rise in violence has led US President Joe Biden’s administration to launch a review of a deal signed between Washington and the Taliban last year that paved the way for the withdrawal of all American troops in coming months.