KABUL, Afghanistan — Back to back suicide bombs claimed by the extremist Islamic State group exploded Monday morning near an Afghan security compound in a highly secure area of the Afghan capital, killing at least 25 people, including journalists, police said. At least 45 people were wounded in the twin attacks, according to Kabul police spokesman, Hashmat Stanekzai, who also added that four policemen were among those killed. KABUL (Reuters) - The suicide attack that killed nine Afghan journalists as they gathered to cover a bomb explosion in the capital Kabul on Monday was the deadliest day for the country’s media since a U.S.-led campaign ousted the Taliban in 2001. In a statement posted on an IS-affiliated website, the Islamic State group said two of its martyrdom seekers carried out the double bombing, targeting the headquarters of the “renegade” Afghan intelligence services in Kabul. No one immediately claimed responsibility for Monday's attack, but both Taliban and Islamic State group are active and have repeatedly claimed attacks in Kabul.The suicide blasts took place in the central Shash Darak area, which is home to the NATO headquarters and a number of embassies in Afghanistan.Stanekzai, the police spokesman, said the first suicide bomber was on a motor bike. The second explosion was meant to hit those rushing to the scene of the attack to help the victims of the first blast.He said the second attacker was on foot, in a crowd of reporters that had rushed to the scene of the first attack, pretending to be one of the media. He then detonated his explosives while still among the reporters, the spokesman said, intentionally targeting journalists.Agence France-Presse reported that the news agency's chief photographer in Kabul, Shah Marai, was among those killed. Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanekzai confirmed that four policemen were killed, while an Afghan media watchdog, the Afghan Journalists Safety Committee (AJSC), confirmed that eight journalists were also killed. Police officer Jan Agha said the journalists died in the second blast, which also wounded two police officers.Kabul chief of police Dawood Amin said the area of Kabul that was targeted, which includes many foreign offices, was quickly sealed off and authorities were investigating. “I don’t know who is responsible for all these attacks, every day we lose our loved ones and no one in this government is taking responsibility for the killing of these innocent people,” she said. Mohammad Mousa Zahir, director of Wazir Akbarkhan Hospital, said several people suffering injuries from the blasts were being treated at the hospital.The local Islamic State group affiliate and the more firmly established Taliban carry out regular attacks around the country, with the Taliban usually targeting the government and security forces and IS targeting members of the country's the Shiite minority, whom the affiliate perceives as apostates. Both groups want to establish strict Islamic rule in Afghanistan.Last week, an Islamic State suicide bomber attacked a voter registration center in Kabul, killing 60 people and wounding at least 130 others. Globally, it was the worst attack on journalists in a single incident since 31 reporters and photographers were killed in a massacre in the southern Philippines in 2009.
Twin suicide bombings in Kabul, Afghanistan, kill at least 25 people, including prominent Agence France-Presse photographer Shah Marai and three Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalists who were covering the first bombing. ISIL's Afghan branch claims responsibility.