KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – Two separate explosions shook the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Saturday, killing at least three people, including members of the Sikh minority community, and injuring four others, Afghan officials said.
The first explosion hit a store in the center of the capital, causing the collapse and killing at least two Sikhs, according to two Afghan police officers. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to inform the media.
No one immediately took responsibility for the explosion, but the Islamic State group is targeting Sikhs and other minority communities in Afghanistan.. A national increase in bombings, targeted killings and violence on the battlefield occurs at the time when peace talks in Qatar between the Taliban and the Afghan government are stalled.
Kabul police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz said six people were injured in the explosion at the store and no one died. He said the police are investigating what caused the explosion. The discrepancy between the two numbers could not be explained immediately.
In Saturday’s second explosion, Faramarz said a sticky bomb was attached to a police car and exploded in northern Kabul, killing a police officer.
Tensions in Afghanistan are high amid a series of selective murders. Some are claimed by the local Islamic State affiliate, but many are unclaimed, attributed by the government to the Taliban, which has denied responsibility for most of the attacks.
With the growing threats from ISIS, Afghanistan’s once thriving community of Sikhs and Hindus has dwindled from 250,000 to less than 700.
IS took responsibility for an attack last March, in which an armed man raided a Sikh house of worship in the heart of Kabul, killing 25 worshipers and wounding eight.
The IS said it carried out 82 attacks in Afghanistan in 2020, killing or injuring 821 people, including 21 murders. Most of the victims of his attacks were security guards or Shiite Muslims. However, the perpetrators of many targeted murders are unknown.