The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the two bomb attacks on two minibuses that killed at least nine people Thursday in Mazar-i-Sharif, a week after a deadly attack on a Shiite mosque in this northern city. Afghanistan. “The targets appear to be Shiite passengers,” Balkh provincial police spokesman Asif Waziri told AFP, adding that 13 people were injured in the blasts.
The two explosions occurred within minutes of each other in different parts of the city as workers returned home to break the Ramadan fast, Asif Waziri said.
“The enemies of Afghanistan are creating tensions and divisions among our people,” he added.
The blasts came a week after a bomb attack on a Shiite mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif killed at least 12 worshipers and injured 58.
Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August after overthrowing US-backed authorities there, the number of bombings has declined but jihadists and IS have continued their attacks on targets they deem heretical.
Shia Afghans, mostly from the Hazara community which constitutes between 10 and 20% of Afghanistan’s 38 million inhabitants, have long been the target of the Islamic State (IS).
Taliban officials insist their forces have defeated the Islamic State group, but analysts say the jihadist organization still poses a major security threat to Afghanistan.