UPDATE - Multiple blasts rock Afghan capital, 6 dead

UPDATES WITH DEATH TOLL, PRESIDENT’S CONDEMNATION

By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan (AA) - At least six people were killed and close to 30 others wounded in multiple explosions in the Afghan capital Kabul on Thursday, the country’s Health Ministry said.

Baseer Mujahed, a spokesman for the Afghan National Police in Kabul, told Anadolu Agency IED blasts rocked the Karta-e-Sakhi neighborhood in west Kabul during the Nevruz celebrations marking the beginning of spring.

Earlier, Mujahed had said two people got killed and over a dozen more were injured in these blasts. However, the Ministry of Public Health later revised the death toll to 6 and injury toll to 29.

There has been no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. The local Tolo News reported that roadside IEDs and mortar shells were used in the attack.

President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani has condemned the attack, saying: “The militants have once again demonstrated their hostility towards peace and tranquility of the Afghan people.”

Last year, a suicide bombing killed 29 people in the same vicinity also during the Nevruz celebrations.