KABUL (Reuters) - A suicide attack at a wrestling club in a Shi’ite neighborhood of the Afghan capital Kabul and a second explosion apparently targeting emergency services and journalists at the site killed at least 20 people and wounded 70 on Wednesday, officials said.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in Dasht-e-Barchi, home to many members of the mainly Shi’ite Muslim Hazara ethnic minority which has been targeted repeatedly in the past by the militant Sunni group. The Taliban denied any involvement.

Prior to Wednesday’s attack, the area had seen a series of similar incidents, most recently last month, when dozens of students preparing for a university entrance examination were killed at an educational center.

As police and bystanders, some still wearing their torn wrestling kit, helped the wounded onto vehicles to be taken to hospital, the second explosion hit, catching journalists covering the attack for local television stations.

The second blast came from a car parked outside the club where the suicide attacker had struck, killing a reporter and a cameraman from local broadcaster Tolo News minutes after they had made a live report from the scene.

Four other local television crew were wounded.

After nine journalists died in a single incident in April, when a suicide bomber apparently targeted them while they were covering another attack in Kabul, at least 14 journalists have now been killed in Afghanistan so far this year.

Wednesday’s attack underlined the danger in Kabul as elections approach next month, as well as the threat facing the Hazaras, a Persian-speaking minority that has long faced discrimination and which has borne the brunt of attacks claimed by Islamic State in Kabul.

The explosion came as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that Washington’s former ambassador to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, would be appointed as an adviser to help with efforts to end the conflict.

Hopes of possible peace talks with the Taliban were fueled by a brief ceasefire in June, although intense fighting in the months since, in particular the Taliban’s assault on the central city of Ghazni, have dampened optimism.

In any case, any talks would not include the local affiliate of Islamic State, which has established a brutal reputation and which both the Western-backed government and the Taliban consider an enemy.</s>A suicide attack at a wrestling club in a Shi'ite neighbourhood of the Afghan capital Kabul and a second explosion apparently targeting emergency services and journalists have killed at least 20 people and wounded 70, officials say.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack on Wednesday night in Dasht-e-Barchi, home to many members of the mainly Shi'ite Muslim Hazara ethnic minority which has been targeted in the past by Sunni militants of Islamic State.

Last month, dozens of students preparing for a university entrance examination were killed at an educational centre in the area.

Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanekzai said the second explosion hit as police were helping victims and a number of journalists were at the site.

Pictures showed young men in torn wrestling kit helping the wounded onto vehicles to be taken to hospital.

A reporter and a cameraman from Afghanistan's largest broadcaster, Tolo News, were killed in the second blast and four other local television crew were wounded, according to NAI, a group supporting open media in Afghanistan.

Wednesday's attack underlined the danger in Kabul as elections approach next month, as well as the threat facing the Hazaras, a Persian-speaking minority that has long faced discrimination and which has borne the brunt of attacks claimed by Islamic State in Kabul.

The explosion came as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that Washington's former ambassador to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalizad, would be appointed as an adviser to help with efforts to end the conflict.

Hopes of possible peace talks with the Taliban were fuelled by a brief ceasefire in June, although intense fighting in the months since has dampened optimism.

In any case, any talks would not include the local affiliate of Islamic State, which has established a brutal reputation and which both the Western-backed government and the Taliban consider an enemy.</s>Afghan officials say twin bomb blasts at a wrestling club in the capital Kabul have killed at least 20 people and wounded more than 60 others.

Police said a suicide bomber blew himself up inside the club located in a mainly Shi'ite neighborhood. A second blast occurred nearby while authorities were helping victims of the first explosion.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but it bore the hallmarks of Islamic State. The Sunni Muslim terror organization views Shi’ite Muslims as heretics, and has carried out bombings against the minority before.

The Dascht-e-Barchi neighborhood, mainly populated by Shi’ites, has frequently been a target of IS. Last December, a series of bombings left more than 40 residents dead. In August, another suicide bombing killed 34.</s>A Suicide Bomber blew himself up at a wrestling club in a Shi’ite neighbourhood of the Afghan Capital, Kabul, on Wednesday, followed by a second blast apparently targeting the emergency services and journalists.

At least 20 people were killed and 22 wounded in the first explosion, Interior Ministry spokesman, Nasrat Rahimi, said.

It was unclear what had caused the second blast and there was no information on casualties.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the attack occurred in Dasht-e-Barchi, an area where many of the mainly Shi’ite Hazara minority live.

Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanekzai said the second explosion hit as police were helping victims and a number of journalists were at the site.

In April, 2017 a suicide bomber targeted journalists covering an attack in central Kabul, killing nine.

The area has frequently been targeted by attacks claimed by Islamic State, a militant Sunni group.

In August, dozens of students preparing for a university entrance examination were killed at an educational centre in the area.

The attack underlined the danger in Kabul as elections approach in October as well as the threat facing the Hazaras, a Persian-speaking minority that has long faced discrimination and which has borne the brunt of attacks claimed by Islamic State in Kabul.</s>At least 20 dead as twin blasts hit Afghan capital

KABUL: A suicide attack at a wrestling club in neighborhood of the Afghan capital Kabul and a second explosion apparently targeting emergency services and journalists killed at least 20 people and wounded 70 on Wednesday, officials said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack in Dasht-e-Barchi, home to many members of the mainly Hazara ethnic minority which has been targeted in the past by militants of Daesh.

Last month, dozens of students preparing for a university entrance examination were killed at an educational center in the area.

Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanekzai said the second explosion hit as police were helping victims and a number of journalists were at the site.

Pictures showed young men in torn wrestling kit helping the wounded onto vehicles to be taken to hospital.

A reporter and a cameraman from Afghanistan's largest broadcaster, Tolo News, were killed in the second blast and four other local television crew were wounded, according to NAI, a group supporting open media in Afghanistan.

Last April, a suicide bomber apparently targeted journalists covering an attack in central Kabul, killing nine.

Wednesday's attack underlined the danger in Kabul as elections approach next month, as well as the threat facing the Hazaras, a Persian-speaking minority that has long faced discrimination and which has borne the brunt of attacks claimed by Daesh in Kabul.

The explosion came as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that Washington's former ambassador to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalizad, would be appointed as an adviser to help with efforts to end the conflict.

Hopes of possible peace talks with the Taliban were fueled by a brief ceasefire in June, although intense fighting in the months since has dampened optimism.</s>KABUL: A suicide attack at a wrestling club in a Shia neighbourhood of the Afghan capital and a second explosion apparently targeting emergency services and journalists killed at least 20 people and wounded 70 on Wednesday, officials said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack in Dasht-e-Barchi. Kabul policespokesman Hashmat Stanekzai said the second explosion hit as police were helping victims and a number of journalists were at the site.</s>KABUL (REUTERS) - The death toll from two blasts at a sports centre in a heavily Shi’ite area of the Afghan capital Kabul on Wednesday (Sept 5) reached at least 20, with 70 wounded, officials said.

Interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said the total was likely to change.

Earlier, the death toll had been given as 14.

A suicide bomber blew himself up at a wrestling club, and a second blast struck after the emergency services and journalists arrived at the scene.

An earlier toll had said at least 25 people were wounded.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The attack occurred in Dasht-e-Barchi, home to many members of the mainly Shi'ite Muslim Hazara ethnic minority which has been targeted in the past by Sunni militants of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Last month, dozens of students preparing for a university entrance examination were killed at an educational centre in the area.

Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanekzai said the second explosion hit as police were helping victims and a number of journalists were at the site.

Last April, a suicide bomber targeted journalists covering an attack in central Kabul, killing nine.

Wednesday's attack underlined the danger in Kabul as elections approach next month, as well as the threat facing the Hazaras, a Persian-speaking minority that has long faced discrimination and which has borne the brunt of attacks claimed by ISIS in Kabul.</s>The Maiwand Wrestling Club in Kabul was the sight of twin bomb attacks on Wednesday evening, with at least 20 people dead in the blasts.

The first explosion happened around 6 p.m., with a suicide bomber detonating an explosive vest inside the club, per CNN. After emergency services and the media had arrived, a second bomb in a car was detonated, in what is believed to be a targeted attack on these professionals.

Tolo News, a private broadcaster in Afghanistan, said that two of its journalists, 28-year-old Samim Faramarz and 23-year-old Ramiz Ahmadi, were killed in the second explosion. More than 60 people were injured in the two explosions.

It wasn’t long before ISIS claimed responsibility for the horrific attack. The wrestling club is in the predominantly Shia Qala-e-Nazer neighborhood of Western Kabul.

Twelve journalists have lost their lives in Afghanistan in 2018, more than in any other country, including the two on Wednesday night. In April, 10 journalists were killed in a single day, including a BBC reporter and a photographer, both of whom had been vocal about the dangers of reporting from the capital of the country.

“Afghan journalists have shown incredible bravery covering the news while being repeatedly targeted by a cynical enemy,” said Steven Butler, CPJ’s Asia program coordinator, in a statement.

The violence in the area has been escalating, with an education center becoming the target for another attack in the last month. ISIS also claimed responsibility for that attack, which claimed the lives of 34 people. The Taliban is another source for concern in the area, routinely carrying out attacks on civilians and military targets.

According to a recent UN report, the number of Afghans killed in just the first six months of 2018 is at a record high, with 1,692 deaths recorded.

Although there has been talk of a peace deal in recent months, the Taliban launched another attack on Ghazni in August, killing at least 16 people and injuring a further 40 in a move to seize key buildings in the city.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said “Islamabad and Washington needed to work together for peace in Afghanistan.”

President Donald Trump has claimed that the Pakistani capital has been “granting safe haven to militants who are waging a 17-year-old war in neighboring Afghanistan,” something the country strongly denies.

An airstrike in Afghanistan on August 25, carried out by US military forces, claimed the life of the head of ISIS in the country.</s>At least 20 people have been killed and 70 wounded in separate blasts at a Kabul wrestling club.

An hour after a suicide bomber blew himself up at a sports hall in a heavily Shia neighbourhood on Wednesday, a car packed with explosives detonated as journalists and security forces gathered at the scene, police said.

Tolo News, Afghanistan’s largest private broadcaster, said two of its journalists were killed in the attack. The media support group NAI said at least four journalists were wounded in the second explosion.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombings. Islamic State often targets Afghanistan’s minority Shia population.

The Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, said in a statement: “An attack on civilians and media workers of the country is an attack on freedom of speech and a crime against humanity.”

Pahlawan Shir, the director of the wrestling club, said: “I was outside when the first explosion happened, which has killed over 30 people, many of them wrestlers. I was searching for my coach, I have finally found him in the … hospital. He is in a critical condition.”

A spokesman for the interior ministry said at least 20 people were killed. An Afghan security source confirmed the numbers.

People who claimed to have witnessed the attack said the bomber killed the guards at the club before blowing himself up inside.

The bomber “detonated inside where a large number of athletes had gathered. There are a lot of dead and wounded,” Mohammad Hanif said on Facebook.

It was the deadliest on Kabul’s Shia population since 15 August, when a suicide bomber blew himself up in an education centre, killing dozens of students. Isis said it was behind that attack, which drew international condemnation. Most of the victims were studying for college entrance exams when the bomb went off.

Civilians have long borne the brunt of the violence in Afghanistan, especially in Kabul, a target of both the Taliban and Isis. Journalists have also paid a heavy price covering the conflict. Nine journalists and 16 other people were killed in twin explosions in Kabul on 30 April.

On Tuesday the Taliban announced the death of Jalaluddin Haqqani, who founded the eponymous militant group widely suspected of being behind some of the attacks in Kabul claimed by Isis.</s>KABUL (Reuters) - A suicide bomber blew himself up in a wrestling club in the west of the Afghan capital Kabul on Wednesday, killing at least four people, officials said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the blast occurred in Dasht-e-Barchi, an area where many of the mainly Shi’ite Hazara minority live.

The area has frequently been targeted by attacks claimed by Islamic State. Last month, dozens of students preparing for a university entrance examination were killed at an educational centre in the area.

“The explosion was due to a suicide bombing inside a wrestling club,” Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said, adding the blast had caused casualties and damage but giving no further details.

Public Health Ministry spokesman Wahid Majroh said four bodies had been recovered and 18 wounded had been taken to hospitals but the final casualty toll had not been established.
A Suicide attack at a wrestling club in a Hazara Shi’ite neighborhood of the Afghan capital Kabul and a second explosion apparently targeting emergency services and journalists kills at least 20 people and wounds 70 others.