Bomb in Afghan capital targeted TV bus, two dead – official

A bus belonging to a local TV station was hit by a roadside bomb Saturday in the capital Kabul, killing two employees, said a spokeswoman for the interior ministry.

Four other employees were wounded in the attack, said Marwa Amini, ministry deputy spokeswoman.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the violence, but Amini said the bus from Khurshid TV was the target.

Mohammad Rafi Sediqi, an official with Khurshid, confirmed the deaths of two employees. He said two wounded were in critical condition.

Both the Taliban and Daesh group affiliate are active in Kabul but Daesh has claimed responsibility for recent attacks in the capital.

The attack came after a truce the Taliban and Afghan nationals security forces in effect during the three-day Muslim holiday of Eid al Fitr ended on Tuesday.

Violence against media workers

Afghanistan is among the most dangerous countries in the world for reporters. In January, the Afghan Journalists Safety Committee reported five journalists were killed in 2019. 

The year before, 17 journalist and media workers were killed in Afghanistan, when a total of 121 cases of violence against journalists and media workers were reported.

During an attack in April 2018, nine journalists who rushed to the scene of a suicide bombing in Kabul were killed when a second suicide bomber who waited for first responders and others to appear on the scene ignited his explosives. A 10th journalist was killed the same day, shot in eastern Khost province.