KABUL, Afghanistan (PA) – Two separate explosions rocked 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 blast hit a store in the heart of the capital, causing it to collapse and kill at least two Sikhs, according to two Afghan police officers. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to inform the media.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the blast, but the Islamic State group targeted Sikhs and other minority communities in Afghanistan.. A nationwide increase in bombings, targeted killings and battlefield violence comes as Qatar peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government stall.
Kabul police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz said six people were injured in the store blast and no one was killed. He said police are investigating what caused the blast. The discrepancy between the two numbers could not be immediately accounted for.
In a second blast on Saturday, Faramarz said a sticky bomb was attached to a police car and went to northern Kabul, killing a police officer.
Tensions in Afghanistan are high amid a series of murders. Some are claimed by the local Islamic State affiliate, but many remain unjust, blamed by the government on the Taliban who have denied responsibility for most of the attacks.
With growing threats from IS, the once thriving Sikh and Hindu community in Afghanistan has shrunk from 250,000 members to less than 700.
IS claimed responsibility for an attack last March in which an armed man broke into a Sikh house of worship in the heart of Kabul, killing 25 worshipers and wounding eight.
IS claimed to have carried out 82 attacks in Afghanistan in 2020, killing or injuring 821 people, including 21 assassinations. Most of the victims of his attacks were either security personnel or Muslims. However, the perpetrators of many murders are not known.