Blast in Kabul, Afghanistan kills 8; Islamic State claims responsibility

KABUL (Reuters) -The Islamic State (IS) militant group claimed responsibility for a deadly blast on Friday in a Shi’ite residential area in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul.

Police said at least eight people were killed and 18 wounded in the blast. The militant group said in a statement that 20 people were killed and injured in the attack in western Kabul.

“The explosion happened in a crowded place,” police spokesman Khalid Zadran said.

Video posted on social media purportedly of the blast site showed men rushing to help the injured after the incident.

A senior Taliban security official, who declined to be named, said primary investigations revealed that explosives were placed in a vegetable cart and the blast resulted in the wounding and killing of more than 50 people, including women and children.

“There is a possibility that the death toll will increase because most of the wounded people had critical wounds,” he said.

The IS affiliate operating in Afghanistan since 2014 is seen as the country’s most serious security challenge since the Taliban took control of the country in August last year.

The hardline militant group has claimed recent attacks, mainly on the minority Shi’ite community.

(Reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar, Writing by Rupam Jain; Editing by Hugh Lawson, David Gregorio and Angus MacSwan)