Bomb blast at Kabul checkpoint kills, injures several, Taliban say

Kabul, Afghanistan — A bomb exploded near a checkpoint at Kabul’s military airport on Sunday morning, killing and wounding “several” people, Taliban officials said. This will be the first fatal explosion of 2023 in Afghanistan.

No one was quick to claim responsibility for the attacks, but the regional branch of the Islamic State group (known as the Islamic State of Khorasan Province) has been ramping up attacks since the Taliban takeover in 2021. increase. Targets include Taliban patrols and members of Afghanistan’s Shiite minority.

The military airport, located about 200 meters from a civilian airport and near the Ministry of Interior, was hit by a suicide bomber last October, killing at least four people.

Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Thakor said several people were killed and injured in the blast. He declined to give exact numbers or details about the bombing, saying he would share details of the investigation later.

Taliban security forces banned photography and videotaping at the site of the bombing, but the checkpoint appeared damaged but intact. It is located on Airport Road, leading to a high-security district lined with government ministries, foreign embassies and the Presidential Palace.

A spokesman for Kabul Police Chief Khalid Zadran could not be reached for comment.