Series of explosions target police in Kabul; at least 2 dead

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 Islamic State 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 IS fighters, particularly in eastern Afghanistan, while continuing their insurgency against government forces and keeping their promise not to attack US and NATO troops.

IS has also claimed responsibility for last week’s rocket attacks targeting the major US base in Afghanistan. There were no casualties.