KABUL: A bomb exploded on a mini-bus Saturday on a busy commercial street in a Kabul neighborhood mainly populated by members of Afghanistan's minority Hazara community, emergency workers and the bus driver said. At least one person was killed and five wounded.
Workers with the ambulance teams at the scene told The Associated Press that the blast appeared to have been caused by a bomb on the bus.
The bus driver, speaking to the AP at the hospital, said that at one point during his route, a suspicious man got onto the bus and a few minutes later, the explosion went off at the back of the bus.
The driver, who goes by a single name Murtaza, said he saw two passengers with their clothes on fire falling out of the back of the vehicle while other passengers escaped out the front.
The spokesman for Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban, Zabihullah Mujahid, told the AP that a fire broke out on the mini-bus and caused an explosion, killing one person and wounding another.
Photos from the scene showed the burning wreckage of a vehicle with a pall of smoke rising into the air. The explosion took place on the main avenue running through Dashti Barchi, a sprawling neighborhood on the west side of Kabul largely populated by Hazaras.
Afghanistan's Hazaras, who are mostly Shiite Muslims, have been the target of a brutal campaign of violence for the past several years, blamed on Daesh. Militants have carried out several deadly attacks in Dashti Barchi, including a 2020 attack on a maternity hospital.
Blast on bus in Afghan capital kills 1 person, wounds 5
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Blast on bus in Afghan capital kills 1 person, wounds 5
- The area is heavily populated by Hazaras who have been the target of repeated attacks by Daesh militants
US-Israeli attack violates international law: South Africa
- Ramaphosa “calls on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and to act in a manner consistent with international law,” a statement said
- Ramaphosa “reiterates his call for intensified diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions”
JOHANNESBURG: The US and Israeli strikes on Iran Saturday violated international law, South Africa’s president said, calling for restraint and dialogue.
The allies launched the attack citing “threats” from Iran, which retaliated with a barrage of missiles aimed at Gulf states that host US bases, and at Israel.
President Cyril Ramaphosa “calls on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and to act in a manner consistent with international law, international humanitarian law and the principles of the United Nations Charter,” a statement said.
The UN Charter states that self-defense can only be invoked when a state has been subjected to an armed invasion, the statement from his office said.
It condemned “international law violations,” saying: “Anticipatory self-defense is not permitted under international law and self-defense cannot be based on assumption or anticipation.”
Ramaphosa “reiterates his call for intensified diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions and create space for continued meaningful negotiations,” the statement said.
US President Donald Trump said Washington’s goal was “eliminating imminent threats” from Iran, while Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation was to remove an “existential threat.”
