Kabul Bomb Blast killed 8 people and several injured

Kabul Bomb Blast killed 8 people and several injured. 

According to authorities, eight people were killed when an explosive device affixed to a handcart detonated in Kabul on Friday in an area predominantly populated by Afghanistan’s minority Shiite Muslim population.

18 other people were hurt in the explosion, which occurred as Shiites in Afghanistan celebrated the first 10 days of the Muslim holy month of Muharram, according to a statement by police spokesperson Khalid Zadran.

Security personnel is looking for the offenders, according to Zadran.

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The death toll was verified by a government spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, who claimed that the attack was the “work of people who are enemies of Islam and the nation.”

The Sunni extremist Islamic State, which often targets Afghanistan’s Shiite population, claimed responsibility for the explosion. 

The organization claimed that IS militants “detonated the device” on one of its Telegram channels.

According to Zadran, the explosives were mounted on a handcart carrying vegetables that were parked near a grocery store frequented by locals.

The explosion happened in a section of west Kabul mostly populated by Shiite Muslims of the ethnic Hazara group.

The explosion occurred only a few days before Ashura when believers congregated at mosques and participated in processions honoring the late beloved Shiite Imam Hussein Ibn Ali, the Prophet Mohammed’s grandson.

Since the Taliban took back control in August of last year, there have been fewer violent assaults in public places around the nation. Still, IS has continued to target Shiites, whom it sees as heretics.

Between 10 and 20 percent of Afghanistan’s 38 million people are members of the minority community.

Despite Taliban leaders’ claims to the contrary, observers believe the extremist organization still poses a serious security threat.