Child killed, several injured in Kabul blast

ANKARA

A child was killed and another 11 people were wounded in an explosion in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, an official said on Thursday.

The blast occurred on Wednesday in the vicinity of Pamir Cinema, police spokesman Khalid Zadran said in a statement.

“Yesterday, there was an explosion in the Pamir Cinema area of Kabul from explosives a person was carrying in a bag,” he said.

The suspect, who too was among the injured, has been arrested, Zadran added.​​​​​​​

Italian organization Emergency NGO, which operates a hospital in Kabul, said the explosion occurred at around 2 p.m. local time (09:30 GMT) at a second-hand clothes market.

The NGO said it treated 11 wounded, including two young children, a 16-year-old and two women.

“The explosion took place at a second-hand clothes market when it opened and people crowded to get in. This is the Pamir Cinema neighbourhood, one of the most densely populated in Kabul. Many of those affected by this attack will be living in conditions of severe poverty,” said Stefano Gennaro Smirnov, the non-profit’s deputy country director in Afghanistan.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

International forces withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021, and the war-torn country is run by an interim Taliban administration.