Nine killed by bomb blasts in Mazar-i-Sharif

KABUL: Two bomb blasts aboard separate minibuses killed at least nine people on Thursday in Afghanistan’s Mazar-i-Sharif, police said, a week after a deadly explosion rocked a Shia mosque in the northern city.

The number of violent public attacks across Afghanistan has fallen since the Taliban returned to power last August, but the Islamic State group has continued to target its opponents.

A string of deadly bombings targeting members of the minority communities has convulsed the country in the past two weeks of the fasting month of Ramazan, killing and wounding dozens.

Thursday’s blasts occurred within minutes of each other in different districts of Mazar-i-Sharif as commuters were heading home to break their fast, Balkh provincial police spokesman Asif Waziri said.