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.



France Accuses Iran of ‘Repression’ in Sentence for Nobel Laureate

People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
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France Accuses Iran of ‘Repression’ in Sentence for Nobel Laureate

People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)
People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP)

France accused Iran on Monday of "repression and intimidation" after a court handed Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi a new six-year prison sentence on charges of harming national security.

Mohammadi, sentenced Saturday, was also handed a one-and-a-half-year prison sentence for "propaganda" against Iran's system, according to her foundation.

"With this sentence, the Iranian regime has, once again, chosen repression and intimidation," the French foreign ministry said in a statement, describing the 53-year-old as a "tireless defender" of human rights.

Paris is calling for the release of the activist, who was arrested before protests erupted nationwide in December after speaking out against the government at a funeral ceremony.

The movement peaked in January as authorities launched a crackdown that activists say has left thousands dead.

Over the past quarter-century, Mohammadi has been repeatedly tried and jailed for her vocal campaigning against Iran's use of capital punishment and the mandatory dress code for women.

Mohammadi has spent much of the past decade behind bars and has not seen her twin children, who live in Paris, since 2015.

Iranian authorities have arrested more than 50,000 people as part of their crackdown on protests, according to US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).


Iran's Supreme Leader Urges Iranians to Show 'Resolve' against Foreign Pressure

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
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Iran's Supreme Leader Urges Iranians to Show 'Resolve' against Foreign Pressure

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).
Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on (File Photo/Supreme Leader's website).

Iran's supreme leader Ali Khamenei on Monday called on his compatriots to show "resolve" ahead of the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution this week.

Since the revolution, "foreign powers have always sought to restore the previous situation", Ali Khamenei said, referring to the period when Iran was under the rule of shah Reza Pahlavi and dependent on the United States, AFP reported.

"National power is less about missiles and aircraft and more about the will and steadfastness of the people," the leader said, adding: "Show it again and frustrate the enemy."


UK PM's Communications Director Quits

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
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UK PM's Communications Director Quits

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at Horntye Park Sports Complex in St Leonards, Britain, February 05, 2026. Peter Nicholls/Pool via REUTERS

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's director of communications Tim Allan resigned on Monday, a day after Starmer's top aide Morgan McSweeney quit over his role in backing Peter Mandelson over his known links to Jeffrey Epstein.

The loss of two senior aides ⁠in quick succession comes as Starmer tries to draw a line under the crisis in his government resulting from his appointment of Mandelson as ambassador to the ⁠US.

"I have decided to stand down to allow a new No10 team to be built. I wish the PM and his team every success," Allan said in a statement on Monday.

Allan served as an adviser to Tony Blair from ⁠1992 to 1998 and went on to found and lead one of the country’s foremost public affairs consultancies in 2001. In September 2025, he was appointed executive director of communications at Downing Street.