Series of Explosions Target Police in Kabul; At Least 2 Dead

Afghan security personnel inspect the site of a bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020. A series of explosions hit the Afghan capital on Saturday morning. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
Afghan security personnel inspect the site of a bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020. A series of explosions hit the Afghan capital on Saturday morning. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
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Series of Explosions Target Police in Kabul; At Least 2 Dead

Afghan security personnel inspect the site of a bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020. A series of explosions hit the Afghan capital on Saturday morning. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)
Afghan security personnel inspect the site of a bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, Dec. 26, 2020. A series of explosions hit the Afghan capital on Saturday morning. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

A series of explosions hit the Afghan capital on Saturday morning, killing at least two police officers and wounding another two plus a civilian, officials said.

The officers died and a civilian was hurt when a magnetic bomb attached to a police vehicle detonated in western Kabul, said police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz.

Two other police were wounded when a bomb attached to their car exploded earlier Saturday in southern Kabul, Faramarz said.

A third magnetic bomb detonated in eastern Kabul but caused no casualties, he said.

There were reports of at least two other blasts elsewhere in the city but police had no immediate details.

The latest attacks came as Taliban and Afghan government negotiators held talks in Qatar, trying to hammer out a peace deal that could put an end to decades of war.

No one has immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks in Kabul. The ISIS group has claimed responsibility for multiple attacks in the capital in recent months, including on educational institutions that killed 50 people, most of them students.

The talks in Doha have been suspended until early January and there is speculation they could be further delayed.

At the same time, Taliban militants have waged bitter battles against ISIS fighters, particularly in eastern Afghanistan, while continuing their insurgency against government forces and keeping their promise not to attack US and NATO troops.

ISIS has also claimed responsibility for last week´s rocket attacks targeting the major US base in Afghanistan. There were no casualties.



EU Calls on Iran to Engage Seriously in Diplomatic Process

Flags of the European Union and its member states fly in front of the building of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
Flags of the European Union and its member states fly in front of the building of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
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EU Calls on Iran to Engage Seriously in Diplomatic Process

Flags of the European Union and its member states fly in front of the building of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
Flags of the European Union and its member states fly in front of the building of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France June 30, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

The European Union called on Iran "to engage seriously in a credible diplomatic process", an EU spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said on Tuesday.

"This escalation benefits no one, and everybody is concerned by the same thing, which is the spillover effect," El Anouni said.

Israel and Iran on Tuesday accepted a ceasefire plan proposed by President Donald Trump to end their 12-day war that roiled the Middle East, after Tehran launched a limited, retaliatory missile attack on a US military base in Qatar.