One civilian killed in Kabul rocket attack

KABUL: A series of rockets struck Kabul on Saturday, killing one person and wounding two, officials said, the second such attack to rock the Afghan capital in less than a month.

Violence has surged across Afghanistan in recent months, with several deadly attacks carried out in Kabul, despite the Taliban and the government engaging in peace talks since September 12 in Qatar.

"This morning, 10 rockets were fired from the Labe Jar neighbourhood of Kabul," Interior Ministry spokesman Tariq Arian told reporters. He said three rockets landed near Kabul airport and seven in residential areas, leaving one civilian dead and two wounded. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far and the Taliban denied any involvement.

The barrage of rockets on Saturday was the second such attack in less than a month in Kabul. On November 21, eight people were killed and 31 were wounded when 23 rockets hit the capital in an attack claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.

Afghan Vice President Amrullah Saleh said on his Facebook page on Saturday that he had received a warning from IS that it would "transform Kabul into a slaughterhouse for Shiites" if any of the jihadist group´s militants arrested by government forces were executed.

In recent months, Saleh and his aides have pushed for public trials of "terrorists" arrested in connection with deadly attacks and for those found guilty to be hanged publicly.

On Saturday, in a separate statement, the Interior Ministry said attacks such as Saturday´s were aimed at "soft targets".