5 killed, 27 hurt in Afghan blasts

At least five persons were killed and 27 others were injured in a triple bombing in eastern Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province on Friday, provincial officials said. No militant outfit has so far claimed responsibility for the three bombings in Jalalabad, which is a hotbed of IS militancy.

“Five persons were martyred in three explosions in different parts of Jalalabad of Nangarhar province this morning,” said provincial spokesperson Ataullah Khogyani.

Khogyani said the first blast was a roadside bomb, which detonated outside the house of a senior prison official, Abdul Hakim, killing him and a child and wounding six others.

The second blast came outside the fire brigade office –from where the first rescuers are usually dispatched after an attack – killing three and wounding 21. Khogyani said the third blast came as people gathered at Hakim’s house after the first blast, but no casualty was reported.

Dr Najib Kamawal, director of the Nangarhar civil hospital confirmed the toll. The IS group appears to be intensifying attacks against the government and civilians as Afghan forces.