Afghanistan: Several dead as blasts rock Jalalabad and Kabul

ISKP claimed responsibility for the series of explosions that left at least seven dead.

Taliban members inspect an area near the site of a blast in Jalalabad [AFP]

At least seven people have been killed and some 30 wounded in a series of blasts in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad and the country’s capital, Kabul, Taliban sources told Al Jazeera.

The casualties occurred when improvised explosive devices went off on Saturday, the sources said.

Sources had told Reuters news agency on Saturday at least three people were killed and about 20 were wounded in blasts in Jalalabad, the capital of Nanjarhar province. The sources had said they were citing information from hospitals and eyewitnesses.

News agencies quoting witnesses and security sources said the fatalities occurred during at least four explosions in the capital of Nangarhar province on Saturday.

On Sunday, the Islamic State in Khorasan Province armed group, also known as ISKP (ISIS-K), claimed responsibility for the attacks on its Telegram channel.

“More than 35 Taliban militia members were killed or wounded, in a series of explosions that took place,” the group said, referring to blasts on Saturday and Sunday. Jalalabad is the capital of Nangarhar province, the heartland of ISKP.

People outside the Nangarhar Regional Specialization Hospital after the explosions [AFP]

Pictures taken at the site of a blast in Jalalabad showed a green pick-up truck with a white Taliban flag surrounded by debris as armed men looked on.

“In one attack, a Taliban vehicle patrolling in Jalalabad was targeted,” a Taliban official, who asked not to be named, told the AFP news agency.

“Women and children were among the injured,” he said.

At least two people were also reported wounded in a car bomb blast just before noon in Kabul’s Dasht-e-Barchi neighbourhood.

The Taliban stormed to power in mid-August, overthrowing the government as the United States-led international forces completed their withdrawal from Afghanistan. The group has promised to restore security to the violence-racked country.

The chaotic US-led evacuation of foreigners and Afghans who worked for international forces was marred by a devastating bomb attack, claimed by ISKP, that killed scores of people.

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies