Two blasts hit Afghan capital Kabul, officials say

[November 17, 2021]    KABUL (Reuters) - Two explosions hit the Afghan capital Kabul on Wednesday, killing at least one person and wounding at least six, including three women, Taliban officials and residents said.

One car bomb blast in Dasht-e Barchi, a heavily Shi'ite Muslim area of western Kabul, killed a civilian and wounded six, interior ministry spokesman Qari Sayeed Khosty said in a tweet.

There was no confirmation of casualty numbers and one Taliban official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said seven people had been killed and nine wounded.

A second explosion was also reported in the nearby Karte 3 area, local residents said. A Taliban official said security forces were still gathering information.

Images posted on social media showed a car destroyed by flames as well as twisted wreckage.

The explosions added to a series of blasts to hit Kabul in recent days, with Shi'ite areas in the west of the city targeted several times.

There was no claim of responsibility but Islamic State militants have claimed several attacks on Shi'ite targets including mosques.

Mohammad Nabi, a resident of Dashti Barchi, said it appeared that the second explosion had also caused casualties but there were no immediate details.

(Writing by James Mackenzie; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Nick Macfie)

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