Three civilians killed in two explosions in Kabul

KABUL: At least three civilians were killed and 12 more were wounded in two separate explosions in Kabul that occurred in less than one hour of each other on Sunday evening. Police said the first explosion happened in the Pul-e-Sokhta area in Kabul’s District 3, hitting a passenger bus, in which one civilian was killed and five more were wounded. Police added that the other explosion also targeted a passenger bus in the Sar-e-Karez area in Kabul’s District 6, in which two civilians were killed and seven more were wounded. The media’s findings show that parts of the centers of at least 10 provinces, including Kabul, Nangarhar, Kunduz, Helmand, Parwan, Balkh, Kandahar, Badghis and Uruzgan have faced deadly anti-security incidents in the last 15 days.

One of them was a deadly car bomb attack in the city of Herat in the west of Afghanistan, which resulted in seven civilians killed and over 60 more wounded, according to local officials. Amid concerns over an increase in violence, Interior Minister Gen. Massoud Andarabi in an interview with the Associated Press on Saturday said that Afghan security forces are capable of holding their positions even if US troops withdraw. “The Afghan security forces are fully capable of defending the capital and the cities and the territories that we are present in right now,” he said. “We think that the Afghan security forces this year have proven to the Taliban that they will not be able to gain territory.”

The media figures show that 67 security incidents have happened in the country so far this month in which 125 people, including civilians and security force members, have been killed and 172 others have been wounded. Afghans from various parts of the country said they are concerned about their safety. “We are concerned about our safety when we leave our homes in the morning.

We don’t know what happens next,” said Mir Rahmat, a Herat resident. Faryab is another province that has witnessed clashes between security forces and the Taliban over the last few days. “Almar district fell to militants. The city of Maimana will also fall to militants if the situation continues,” said Abdul Wahab, a Faryab resident.