Alwaght- At least 19 people have been killed and 87 injured Saturday in three successive explosions at a funeral ceremony in downtown Kabul.
Witnesses say three explosions ripped through a funeral for a victim of violent clashes between Afghan police and protesters.
Abdullah Abdullah, the Chief Executive of Afghanistan, and acting foreign affairs minister Salahuddin Rabbani were both in attendance along with other government officials at the funeral at the time of the explosions. The high ranking officials were not harmed during the blasts.
Security forces have set up a cordon around the Khair Khana area of Kabul where the triple explosions took place. No group or individual has yet claimed responsibility for the deadly bomb attacks on Saturday.
The Taliban have denied responsibility for the attack according to local media.
The terrorist attack took place during the funeral ceremony of Mohammad Salim Ezadyar, the son of Mohammad Alam Ezadyar, the deputy speaker of the upper house of the Afghan parliament.
Mohammad Salim was fatally wounded in a violent mass rally in Kabul on Friday, which was staged to protest a huge explosion on May 31. Protesters accused the government of failure to maintain security in the country.The massive blast killed 87 people and injured 470.
Kabul’s Garrison Commander, Lt. Gen. Gul Nabi Ahmadzai had warned the public to avoid large gatherings and demonstrations at a press conference Friday night, warning of an imminent terrorist threat, citing the ongoing and highly “sensitive security situation.”
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani chaired a meeting of high-ranking security officials earlier on Saturday to discuss the deteriorating security situation in the country.
