Deadly bomb attack hits Afghan capital

A bomb attached to a handcart has exploded in Kabul, police said, killing eight people and wounding 18 in an area largely inhabited by Afghanistan's minority Shia Muslim community.

The explosives were attached to a handcart loaded with vegetables and parked in an area where residents shopped for daily food items, Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran told reporters on Friday.

"The explosion took place amongst civilians and according to preliminary information two of our citizens were martyred and three others were wounded," he said.

The blast occurred in a west Kabul neighbourhood that is mainly inhabited by members of the ethnic Hazara community, who are mostly Shia Muslims.

Shia Muslims in Afghanistan are currently commemorating the first 10 days of the Islamic holy month of Muharram, culminating in Ashura, which marks the death of the revered Imam Hussein Ibn Ali, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.

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Key security challenge

No group has so far claimed the blast, but Daesh has regularly targeted Shia Muslims in Afghanistan.

The number of violent public attacks across the country has fallen since the Taliban returned to power in August last year, but Daesh has continued to target Shia Muslims, whom it views as heretics.

The minority group makes up between 10 to 20 percent of Afghanistan's population of 38 million.

Taliban officials insist their forces have defeated Daesh, but analysts say the group remains a key security challenge.

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