![The bomb was attached to a handcart and loaded with vegetables[DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images]](https://www.newarab.com/sites/default/files/2022-08/GettyImages-1242295844_1.jpg)
Bomb kills eight in Shia area of Afghan capital
Bomb kills eight in Shia area of Afghan capital
The attack happened as Afghanistan's minority Shia community is preparing to mark the first 10 days of the holy month of Muharram, targeting an area where residents shop for daily food items.
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A bomb attached to a handcart exploded in Kabul on Friday, officials said, killing eight civilians in an area largely inhabited by Afghanistan's minority Shia Muslim community.
The blast, which took place when Shias in Afghanistan are commemorating the first 10 days of the Muslim holy month of Muharram, also injured 18 people, police spokesman Khalid Zadran said in a statement to reporters.
"Security teams are trying to find the perpetrators," Zadran said.
Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the toll, saying the bombing was the "work of those who are enemies of Islam and the country".
The blast was claimed by the Sunni jihadist Islamic State, which has regularly targeted the Shia community in Afghanistan. The group said on one of its telegram channels that IS fighters "detonated the bomb."
The explosives were attached to a handcart loaded with vegetables and parked in an area where residents shopped for daily food items, Zadran said.
UPDATE: WARNNING!! #Graphic The video shows panic among the people following a deadly explosion that targeted Afghan #Shittes in the west of #Kabul.#Shiagenocide pic.twitter.com/uVb72rTBfk
— Syed Zabiullah Langari (@syed2000) August 5, 2022
An explosion occurred in the area of Sar-e-Kariz, near the Mohammad Baqer Mosque, in the west of #Kabul.
— Ayhan Buda آیهان بودا (@Buddha_Salsal) August 5, 2022
The exact number of casualties is not yet known. Witnesses say that most of the victims of this explosion are #Women.#StopHazaraGenocide pic.twitter.com/euo8x85CnM
The explosion occurred in a west Kabul neighbourhood that is mainly inhabited by members of the ethnic Hazara community, who are mostly Shia Muslims.
The blast came just days ahead of Ashura, when worshippers gather at mosques and take part in processions marking the death of the revered Shia Imam Hussein Ibn Ali, grandson of the Prophet Mohammed.
The number of violent public attacks across the country has fallen since the Taliban returned to power in August last year, but IS has continued to target Shias, whom it views as heretics.
The minority group makes up between 10 to 20 per cent of Afghanistan's population of 38 million.
Taliban officials insist their forces have defeated IS, but analysts say the jihadist group remains a key security challenge.
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