Kabul: 36 killed, several injured in two consecutive explosions
An AFP photographer was among nine journalists killed.
At least 36 people were killed and 49 were injured in two back-to-back suicide explosions in Kabul on Monday morning, The Guardian reported. Most of those injured were journalists and emergency personnel who had gathered in the Shashdarak locality after the first explosion.
French news agency AFP said its chief photographer in Kabul, Shah Marai, was among four journalists who died in the second blast.
The explosions took place during the morning rush hour near the buildings of the NDS intelligence service, Reuters reported. The first blast occurred at 8 am local time (9 am Indian time), and the second one targeting journalists and rescue personnel 20 minutes later.
The Afghanistan Federation of Journalists issued a statement condemning the incident. It called the attack a “war crime” and an “organised attack on the Afghan media”.
An explosion was also reported in eastern Nangarhar, where a police official was killed. Three policemen and the district’s deputy governor were injured, according to TOLOnews.
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, AFP reported.
#KABUL - The bodies of at least 21 people who were killed in Kabul blast have been taken to Wazir Akbar Khan hospital, officials at the hospital confirmed. #Afghanistan
— TOLOnews (@TOLOnews) April 30, 2018
#KabulExplosion – second explosion rocks Shashdarak area in Kabul city, while people were assisting victims of the first explosion. The explosion happened close to an NDS office #Afghanistan
— TOLOnews (@TOLOnews) April 30, 2018
#UPDATE Agence France-Presse's chief photographer in Kabul, Shah Marai, has been killed.
— AFP news agency (@AFP) April 30, 2018
He died in a blast that was targeting a group of journalists who had rushed to the scene of a suicide attack in the Afghan capital pic.twitter.com/rOa4rg24x9