Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Police open fire during protests in Kabul

At least five people have died in the Afghan capital Kabul, officials say, after police opened fire on protesters demanding the government step down in the wake of a devastating bomb attack.

Crowds rallied near the site of Wednesday's blast, chanting anti-government and anti-Taliban slogans.

Police in riot gear also used tear gas and water cannon to block them from the presidential palace.

About 90 people died in the bomb blast, one of the deadliest in Kabul in years.

One of those killed during Friday's demonstration was reportedly the son of a prominent politician. Other reports put the death toll at seven, with several other people wounded.

No group has said it carried out Wednesday's bomb attack.

Afghan intelligence officials have pointed the finger at the Haqqani network - a Taliban affiliate - and have alleged support from Pakistan. Pakistan has roundly rejected the claims, calling them "baseless".

The Taliban denied any role and there has been no comment from so-called Islamic State militants, who are usually quick to claim attacks.

Image copyright EPA Image caption The explosion damaged buildings and cars over a wide radius

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Protesters are angry about the lack of security

The blast - caused by explosives packed in a tanker - took place close to the heavily-guarded diplomatic area. Most of the victims were Afghan civilians, and hundreds of people were injured.

There have been a series of attacks in the capital and elsewhere in recent months.

Many of the more than 1,000 protesters on Friday accused the government of failing to address security issues.

"The international community has to put pressure on them and force them to resign," Niloofar Nilgoon, a protester, told Reuters news agency. "They're not capable of leading the country."

'The government is sleeping' - The BBC's Secunder Kermani in Kabul

Outside a hospital run by an Italian NGO, Afghans waiting to see their injured relatives blamed Pakistan for the blast. One said: "The ISI [Pakistan's intelligence service] are sending suicide attackers here… Pakistan has looted our country for years."

But their strongest criticism was for their own government. "Whoever is responsible for the attacks, it's the job of our government to stop them," one person said.

English teacher Nawaz Hafizi ran for 40 minutes through Kabul to visit his brother in hospital on the day of the attack, thinking he was about to die. His brother now seems to be recovering but Mr Hafizi is scathing about the Afghan government.

"The government is sleeping. All their families are living abroad, relaxing. It's only the poor people here who are killed, no-one else."

Read more from our correspondent

Another man told AFP news agency that leaders were "doing nothing to stop this carnage".

"We want justice, we want the perpetrators of the attack to be hanged," Rahila Jafari, a civil society activist, said.

Some of the protesters were throwing stones, one report said, and a car was flying a banner that read "Ghani! Abdullah! Resign! Resign!" - a reference to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Builders work to repair Kabul's bomb-struck Green Zone

More than a third of Afghanistan is now said to be outside government control.

The US has about 8,400 troops in Afghanistan, while another 5,000 from Nato allies are in the country.

The Pentagon has reportedly pressed US President Donald Trump to send thousands more troops to Afghanistan after a top commander warned of "stalemate" in the fight against the Taliban.</s>Six people were killed and 87 others hurt Saturday as explosions erupted during the funeral of a protester killed here a day earlier in anti-government demonstrations, a Health Ministry spokesman told CNN.

“Three big bangs” went off at the funeral of Salem Izadyar, the son of Mohammad Alam Izadyar, the first deputy chairman of the Afghan Senate, a witness told CNN.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani quickly condemned Saturday’s “outrageous attack on mourners burying the martyred,” he said on Twitter. “The country is under attack. We must be strong and united.”

The Taliban denied involvement in the funeral attack, according to a statement.

The government’s chief executive, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, tweeted that he was not harmed.

Salem Izadyar died at a hospital after he was injured Friday in anti-government protests in Kabul, Afghan media reported.

Incensed over the Wednesday suicide attack that left 90 dead in Kabul’s diplomatic zone, Afghans took to the streets Friday to demand the government’s resignation. At least four people died in the protests as demonstrators hurled stones and Afghan police fired bullets into the air in an attempt to disperse crowds.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan expressed concern about the Wednesday strike and the rage on the streets on Friday.

“The genuine anger expressed by the protesters, many of whom suffered the loss of family and friends, is fully understandable,” Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, said Friday in a statement.

“But this tragic week has already added too much civilian suffering to Afghanistan, and further violence will not solve any problems,” he said.

The violence comes as a regional summit is scheduled for Tuesday in Afghanistan to promote peace, security and reconciliation. The effort is dubbed the Kabul Process, and representatives from 21 nations have been invited, according to local news reports.

The conference will be a “visible reminder to all those who seek to harm Afghanistan that the Afghan people are never alone,” US ambassador to Afghanistan Hugo Llorens said.

“As always, the United States, along with all of Afghanistan’s partners, remains shoulder-to-shoulder with our Afghan brothers and sisters in pursuit of a brighter tomorrow for all Afghans,” Llorens said in a statement.</s>At least 12 people were killed and scores of people were injured as a series of explosions ripped through a funeral procession in Kabul on Saturday, eye witnesses told Reuters. However, the Afghan media reported the toll to be as high as 18.

Health Ministry spokesperson Wahidullah Majroh said six bodies had been recovered so far, reported The New York Times. The explosions took place at the funeral for Mohammad Salim Izadyar, the son of the deputy Senate speaker. Izadyar had died during anti-government protests on June 2.

Among those injured included several senior security officials. However, Government Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah and Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, who were present at the funeral, were unharmed. “Barbaric terrorists have turned a funeral into a slaughterhouse,” said Rabbani, according to The New York Times.

While the Taliban’s spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid denied any role, no other group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far. Mujahid said the attack was a fallout of factional rivalries in the government, according to Reuters.

The attack comes four days after a truck bomb had killed 90 people and injured more than 350. The Afghanistan intelligence had accused Taliban-allied Haqqani network of perpetrating the blast in Kabul.</s>A massive suicide truck bombing rocked a highly secured diplomatic area of Kabul, killing 90 people and wounding as many as 400. The attack left a scene of mayhem and destruction in the Afghan capital.

A look at some of the lingering issues after Wednesday’s attack:

Investigators will seek to understand how insurgents managed to get an explosives-packed tanker truck into one of the best-protected areas of Kabul. The Wazir Akbar Khan district is home to most of the capital’s foreign embassies as well as several major government institutions, including the Presidential Palace.

“No one could even imagine that would take place in Wazir Akbar Khan,” said Gen. Mirza Mohammad Yarmand, a former deputy interior minister. “I would call it a security and intelligence error.”

QUESTIONS ABOUT ABILITY TO PROTECT THE CAPITAL

The bombing raises serious questions about the Afghan government’s ability to provide basic security. Insurgent groups have been on the offensive ever since the drawdown of NATO troops from the country in 2014.

The first half of 2017 has seen a particularly successful string of terrorist attacks in the capital, including a twin suicide bombing March 1 that killed 22 people and a coordinated March 8 assault on a military hospital that killed 50 people.

As of late Wednesday night in Kabul, no one had claimed responsibility. The vast majority of such devastating attacks recently have been undertaken by either the Taliban or the local affiliate of Islamic State group.

The Taliban has been waging a guerrilla war against Kabul for more than a decade — ever since being ousted from power by a U.S. invasion in 2001 in the aftermath of 9/11. The Islamic State group is a more recent development, forming in the last few years and largely made up of dissident former Taliban militants. IS has been battling the Taliban for control of certain parts of Afghanistan while also regularly targeting the government.

Yarmand said he didn’t believe the Taliban were behind it, saying they “don’t have the ability to carry out such big attack, and if they did, they would have claimed responsibility.”

The former Interior Ministry official repeated a common belief among Afghan government officials that the Pakistani intelligence services have played a role in the string of terrorist attacks plaguing Kabul. Pakistani officials have repeatedly denied such accusations.

So far, it doesn’t appear likely.

There have been multiple attempts to launch peace talks between the Afghan government and the Taliban, but all have faltered. The most recent initiative, brokered by Pakistan, collapsed and spawned even more public distrust and animosity between Kabul and Islamabad.

What’s more, as long as the Taliban and other insurgent groups can demonstrate the ability to strike deep in the heart of the most secure parts of Kabul, the impetus to negotiate will likely be reduced. Yarmand said there doesn’t appear to be much desire to negotiate on the part of the Taliban leadership or its rank and file.

“For now, their supporters need them to be in fight with the Afghan government,” he said.</s>KABUL--Three bombs detonated at the Kabul funeral of a man killed in recent protests, leaving at least six people dead and wounding 87, Afghanistan’s health ministry said.

Several people were killed Friday when police clashed with protesters angry over this week’s massive truck bombing in the Afghan capital in which least 90 people died.

The latest outbreak of violence in the capital fueled fears the unrest could spark clashes between ethnic groups here.

The man, Salim Izadyar, was the son of the deputy speaker of the Afghan Senate, Mohammad Alam Izadyar, who is an influential politician and ethnic Tajik. Kabul was reduced to rubble during the civil war of the 1990s, when rival ethnic groups, including Tajiks, fought for control of the capital.

The country’s chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah, was present at the funeral but escaped unhurt, along with Mr. Izadyar’s father and several other prominent political figures that are part of the country’s influential mostly Tajik Jamiat-e Islami political party.

An expanded version of this report appears at WSJ.com.

The Link Between Detached Dads and Risk-Taking Girls</s>Six people were killed and 87 others hurt Saturday as explosions erupted during the funeral of a protester killed here a day earlier in anti-government demonstrations, a Health Ministry spokesman told CNN.

“Three big bangs” went off at the funeral of Salem Izadyar, the son of Mohammad Alam Izadyar, the first deputy chairman of the Afghan Senate, a witness told CNN.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani quickly condemned Saturday’s “outrageous attack on mourners burying the martyred,” he said on Twitter. “The country is under attack. We must be strong and united.”

The Taliban denied involvement in the funeral attack, according to a statement.

The government’s chief executive, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, tweeted that he was not harmed.

Salem Izadyar died at a hospital after he was injured Friday in anti-government protests in Kabul, Afghan media reported.

Incensed over the Wednesday suicide attack that left 90 dead in Kabul’s diplomatic zone, Afghans took to the streets Friday to demand the government’s resignation. At least four people died in the protests as demonstrators hurled stones and Afghan police fired bullets into the air in an attempt to disperse crowds.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan expressed concern about the Wednesday strike and the rage on the streets on Friday.

“The genuine anger expressed by the protesters, many of whom suffered the loss of family and friends, is fully understandable,” Tadamichi Yamamoto, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, said Friday in a statement.

“But this tragic week has already added too much civilian suffering to Afghanistan, and further violence will not solve any problems,” he said.

The violence comes as a regional summit is scheduled for Tuesday in Afghanistan to promote peace, security and reconciliation. The effort is dubbed the Kabul Process, and representatives from 21 nations have been invited, according to local news reports.

The conference will be a “visible reminder to all those who seek to harm Afghanistan that the Afghan people are never alone,” US ambassador to Afghanistan Hugo Llorens said.

“As always, the United States, along with all of Afghanistan’s partners, remains shoulder-to-shoulder with our Afghan brothers and sisters in pursuit of a brighter tomorrow for all Afghans,” Llorens said in a statement.</s>Kabul, June 1: The Afghan Cricket Board (ACB) on Thursday (June 1) said it had cancelled all matches and agreements with Pakistan after the Afghan intelligence linked the Pakistani intelligence agency to the Kabul bombing that left 90 dead and 463 wounded.

"After the deadly attack and in light of the findings of the security services and strong reaction by the Afghan nation, we cancelled all kinds of cricket matches and initial mutual relationship agreements with the Pakistan Cricket Board," ACB Media Director Aziz Gharwal told EFE.

The decision, taken overnight, came after the Afghan National Directorate of Security attributed the attack to the Haqqani network - linked to the Taliban and allegedly with bases in Pakistan - and said it had the direct guidance and cooperation of the Pakistani spy agency ISI.

Kabul and Islamabad had recently reached an agreement to play two friendly matches in Kabul and in Pakistan's Lahore city, besides two series of matches in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, and other agreements on sports.

The decision to use sports diplomacy with Pakistan had sparked controversy in social networks in Afghanistan, where there have been many reports of Islamabad supporting insurgents.

"By killing innocent and destitute people, the enemies of Afghanistan's peace and stability showed that they are not worthy of friendship and will not change their stance against Afghans," ACB said in a statement late Wednesday (May 31).

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said in a televised message late Wednesday that the time had come for a decisive step against those "who refused the calls for peace and are trapped in snares of outsiders and fight under their directions".</s>KBAUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Latest on developments in Afghanistan (all times local):

President Mamnoon Hussain says Pakistanis are saddened over a massive terrorist attack in Kabul that killed 90 people and wounded at least 450 others.

In his speech to Parliament on Thursday, Hussain condemned Wednesday’s extremist attack in Kabul, saying the people and the government of Pakistan will continue to support all efforts aimed at ensuring peace in Afghanistan.

Also on Thursday, Afghan Ambassador to Islamabad, Omar Zakhilwal, vowed in a tweet that Wednesday’s “heinous and cowardly crime will fail to break the spirit and morale of our nation.” He noted the attack took place during Ramadan. A “day of fasting, worship and joy was turned into a bloody day of mourning.”

Pakistan and Afghanistan have previously blamed each other for not doing enough against terrorists on their side of border.

Afghans are mourning the loss of family members, friends and colleagues a day after a massive truck bomb in the capital Kabul left at least 90 people dead and more than 450 others wounded in one of the worst extremist attacks since the drawdown of foreign forces from Afghanistan in 2014.

Scores of people waited Thursday in hospitals to hear about the status of family members and friends wounded in Wednesday’s attack.

The bomber drove into Kabul’s heavily guarded diplomatic quarter during the morning rush, leaving behind a bloody chaos and destruction. Most of the casualties were civilians, including women and children, but the dead also included Afghan security guards.

There has been no claim of responsibility for the Kabul attack.</s>On Thursday, Kabul was reeling from its deadliest attack since 2001, with anguished families burying their dead as authorities cleared away mangled wreckage and public anger mounted over the government’s failure to protect citizens in the heart of the capital.

No group has so far claimed Wednesday’s attack, launched from a sewage tanker packed with explosives, which tore a massive crater in the ground and killed at least 90 people, mainly civilians, while wounding hundreds.

The brazen attack during the holy month of Ramadan highlighted the ability of militants to strike even in the capital’s most secure district, home to the presidential palace and foreign embassies that are enveloped in a maze of concrete blast walls.

Angry citizens demanded answers from the government over the perceived intelligence failure leading to the assault, which underscores spiraling insecurity in Afghanistan.

"For how long will we have to tolerate this bloodshed in our country?" a sobbing resident asked on local ToloNews. "I have lost my brother in the blast and the government is constantly failing to provide us with security."

Authorities swept off debris and shards of glass from the streets, and cleared away the charred carcasses of blown-up vehicles, as shocked residents held emotionally charged funerals. With more than 400 people wounded, the injured spilled over into hospital hallways as huge crowds gathered outside waiting for news of their loved ones or searching for missing relatives.

Health officials warned some victims may never be identified as their bodies were torn to pieces or burned beyond recognition.

Afghanistan’s intelligence agency has blamed the Taliban-allied Haqqani network for the attack. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is expected to approve the execution of 11 Taliban and Haqqani prisoners, a government source told AFP, in apparent retaliation to the assault.

The Haqqani network, long thought to have ties to neighbouring Pakistan’s shadowy military establishment, is led by Sirajuddin Haqqani — who is also the Taliban’s deputy leader — and has carried out numerous operations in Kabul, including the 2008 Indian embassy bombing that killed almost 60 people.

The Taliban — currently in the midst of their annual "spring offensive" — denied they were involved, and Islamic State, so far, has not issued a claim in the attack.

Global outrage swelled on Thursday over the blast, the deadliest single attack in Kabul since the Taliban were toppled from power in a 2001 US-led invasion.

US President Donald Trump told Ghani in a phone call that the timing of the attack during Ramadan underscores "the barbaric nature of the terrorists who are enemies of all civilised peoples". UN secretary-general António Guterres expressed his "abhorrence" at the strike. The lights on the Eiffel Tower were switched off on Wednesday night to honour the scores of victims. The monument’s lights were also turned off on Tuesday after suicide blasts in Baghdad killed at least 42.

The explosion, which Kabul residents compared to an earthquake, damaged several embassies in the area. At least 11 Afghan guards working for the US embassy were among those killed and 11 American citizens working as contractors in Kabul were among the wounded, US officials have said.

Germany said an Afghan guard had been killed at its embassy, which was "in the immediate vicinity" of the attack, while several other countries also reported damage to their missions. Frequent mass casualty attacks made the city the deadliest place in Afghanistan for civilians in the first quarter of 2017, according to the UN.

Afghan troops backed by US and Nato forces have been struggling to beat back the insurgents, and the White House is considering sending thousands more soldiers to break the deadlock in the battle against the Taliban.

US troops in Afghanistan number about 8,400, and there are another 5,000 from Nato allies. They mainly serve in an advisory capacity — a far cry from the US presence of more than 100,000 six years ago.</s>KABUL: At least 20 people were killed and nearly 90 wounded when three consecutive explosions rocked Kabul city during of Senator Ezadyar's son's funeral.A security official confirmed that the incident took place as the funeral ceremony of Mohammad Salim Izadyar was underway in Badambagh area.The explosions took place at about 3.30 p.m. According to sources, three suicide bombers detonated their explosives back-to-back during the ceremony.High-ranking officials had been in attendance at the time, including CEO Abdullah Abdullah and acting Foreign Affairs Minister Salahuddin Rabbani.Photographs after the explosion showed Abdullah was safe while Rabbani took to Twitter and confirmed he was unharmed but condemned the incident.The official added that at least 20 people were killed and around 90 were wounded in the explosions.The type of explosive used has not been ascertained so far and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.Ezadyar's son was killed during a mass rally in Kabul on Friday after security forces opened fire on the demonstrators.Security forces have cordoned off the cemetery area and have advised people to avoid the area.The Taliban said its fighters have no role in the explosions that took place during the burial and funeral ceremony in Sarai Shamali area of Kabul.Zabiul Mujahid, the groups spokesperson, claimed that the incident has links to internal dispute and enmity among the enemies of the group.President Ashraf Ghani , who condemned the attack via Twitter, said the "country was under attack"."President Ghani condemns the outrageous attack on mourners burying the martyred.The country is under attack.We must be strong and united," he said.This comes just hours after two high-ranking security officials warned members of the public against attending mass gatherings. Both the Kabul Garrison Commander and the Deputy Minister of Interior Murad Ali Murad said on television that the threat level in Kabul was extremely high, therefore people should avoid public gatherings.This week has been particularly deadly for Kabul after five persons were killed during the mass rally in the city on Friday. They had been protesting against Wednesday's massive truck bombing which killed over 100 people and injured more than 600.
Five anti-government/anti-Taliban protestors are shot dead by police in Kabul, Afghanistan, after demanding that the government step down in the wake of the May 2017 Kabul attack.