Journalists among 21 killed in double Kabul suicide bombings
A co-ordinated double suicide bombing hit central Kabul this morning, killing 21 people, including an AFP photographer and a cameraman for a local TV station, Afghan officials said.
At least 27 other people were injured, according to Wahid Majroh, the public health ministry's spokesman who gave the latest casualty tolls.
Journalists caught in twin bombings in Afghan capital Kabul, death toll increases to seven https://t.co/bzMMfkYjRV pic.twitter.com/BCcyKtxI4W
— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) April 30, 2018
No-one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but both Taliban and Islamic State group are active and have repeatedly claimed attacks in Kabul.
Agence France-Presse reported that the news agency's chief photographer in Kabul, Shah Marai, was among those killed.
#UPDATE Agence France-Presse's chief photographer in Kabul, Shah Marai, has been killed.
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) April 30, 2018
He died in a blast that was targeting a group of journalists who had rushed to the scene of a suicide attack in the Afghan capital pic.twitter.com/rOa4rg24x9
AFP said Marai died in a blast that was targeting a group of journalists who had rushed to the scene of the earlier suicide attack in the capital.
Sediqullah Tawhidi, an official from the Afghan Journalist Safety Committee, said a cameraman form the local Tolo TV also was killed.
Journalists killed today in Kabul:
— Zia Shahreyar l ضیا شهریار (@ziashahreyar) April 30, 2018
1. Shah Marai -@AFPphoto's
2. Mahram Durrani-RadioAzadi
3. Yar Mohammad Tokhi -ToloNews
4. Salim Talash -Mashal TV
5. َAli Salimi -Mashal TV
6. Ghazi Rasuli-1TV
7. Nawruz Ali Khamoosh-1TV
8. Ebadullah Hananzai -Azadi
9. Sabawun Kakar- Azadi pic.twitter.com/jKK9oH0ikL
Police officer Jan Agha said the journalists died in the second blast, which also wounded two police officers.
The suicide attacks took place in the central Shash Darak area, which is home to the Nato headquarters and a number of embassies in Afghanistan.
The second was meant to hit those rushing to the scene of the attack to help the victims of the first blast.
#UPDATE At least 21 people have been killed, including Agence France-Presse chief photographer Shah Marai and three other journalists, in two suicide blasts in Kabul.
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) April 30, 2018
Officials warn the death toll could rise. pic.twitter.com/naw8RVSUef
Kabul chief of police Dawood Amin said the area of Kabul that was targeted, which includes many foreign offices, was quickly sealed off.
Mohammad Mousa Zahir, director of Wazir Akbarkhan Hospital, said several people who were injured in the blasts were being treated at the hospital.
The local Islamic State group affiliate and the more firmly established Taliban carry out regular attacks around the country, with the Taliban usually targeting the government and security forces and IS targeting the Shiite minority.
Large-scale attacks by the two militant groups have also hit the Afghan capital. Both groups want to establish strict Islamic rule in Afghanistan.
