The explosion occurred in a western district of the city where members of the minority Shiite Muslim community regularly meet. Video posted online shows ambulances rushing to the scene, which is also near bus stations. A senior doctor at a private hospital said at least eight people were killed and 22 injured. The Taliban’s interior ministry said an investigation team was at the scene of the blast to help the injured and assess casualties. No militant group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which came before Ashura, a commemoration of the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Hussein, which is marked mainly by Shia Muslims. On Friday, at least eight people were killed and 18 wounded in an explosion in Kabul by the Islamic State, a Sunni Muslim militant group. Islamic State does not control any territory in Afghanistan, but has death cells targeting religious minorities in the country as well as Taliban patrols. The Sunni Muslim Taliban, who took over Afghanistan in August last year after a two-decade insurgency, said they would provide more protection to Shiite mosques and other facilities. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST Sayed Kazum Hojat, a Shia religious scholar in Kabul, said the Taliban government had beefed up security ahead of Ashura, but would need to improve vigilance for any threats. There is no updated census data, but estimates put the size of Afghanistan’s Shia community at between 10% and 20% of the population of 39 million, including Persian-speaking Tajiks and Pashtuns as well as the Hazaras.
