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The western residential area of Kabul is mainly composed of members of the Hazara minority, and another 6 people were injured in the explosion.
According to officials, two commuter minivans in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, were hit by different bombs, killing at least 7 people and wounding 6 others.
Saturday’s bombing hit a vehicle on the same road about 2 kilometers (1.25 miles) apart in a western area in western Kabul, mainly inhabited by members of the Hazara minority.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, one of the explosions killed 6 people and injured two. Another incident occurred in front of Muhammad Ali Jinnah Hospital, killing one person and injuring four others.
The Hazaras are mainly Shiite Muslims and have long been oppressed and persecuted in Sunni Afghanistan—recently they have been targeted by ISIL-related fighters.
The attack on a school in Kabul on May 8 killed nearly 100 people, all of whom were Hazaras, most of whom were young girls who had just finished school.
It is not clear what type of explosive was used, and no one immediately claimed responsibility for Saturday’s attack. The local branch of ISIL carried out similar bombings in the area, including four attacks on four minivans earlier this month, which killed at least 18 people.
As the United States and NATO continue to withdraw the remaining 2,500-3,500 American soldiers and 7,000 allied troops, violence and chaos in Afghanistan continue to escalate. The last group of troops will be withdrawn by September 11 at the latest.
Provincial police spokesman Adel Shah Adel said that also on Saturday, in the capital of the northern province of Balkh, a magnetic bomb in a bicycle was detonated, killing at least one civilian and three others. People were injured.
Since the formal withdrawal of US and other NATO troops on May 1, at least 17 areas have fallen into the hands of the Taliban.
On Saturday, after fierce clashes with members of the government forces, fighters from the armed group took control of the Toorak region in Ghor province in the central part of the country.
Congressman Keramuddin Reza Zada told the dpa news agency that more than a dozen members of the government troops were killed in the night clashes and several others were injured.
Two local officials said that in Balkh province in the north of the country, Taliban militants took control of the Zara area after forcing members of the government to evacuate the center of the area.
Provincial Assemblyman Afzal Hadid said that the security forces evacuated the area with the help of the air force without any casualties, adding that the area had been under siege for a long time.
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