Afghan people gather around the Shrine of Saint Sakhi Saib as they celebrate the Persian New Year Nowruz in Kabul, Afghanistan on March 21, 2019. Haroon Sabawoon - Anadolu
Kabul: At least six people were killed by blasts in Kabul Thursday during Persian New Year celebrations in a Shiite area of the Afghan capital, authorities said, in the latest violence to hit the war-torn city.
"Twenty-three were wounded and six people were martyred (killed) in today's explosions in Kabul," health ministry spokesman Wahidullah Mayar told AFP, with the interior ministry confirming the toll.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, the SITE monitoring group said.
Police said it was caused by three remote-controlled mines -- one placed in the washroom of a mosque, one behind a hospital, and one in an electricity meter.
The blasts were near Kabul University and the Karte Sakhi shrine, where many Afghans gather every year to mark Nawrooz, which is the traditional Persian New Year holiday but considered un-Islamic by Muslim fundamentalists.
"As we celebrate this auspicious day to bind us together our fellow citizens witnessed another devastating day in #Kabul," President Ashraf Ghani wrote on Twitter.
"We lost peaceful citizens to a coward enemy that knows no bounds."
Kabul police spokesman Basir Mujahid said a fourth mine was defused near Kabul University, and that authorities were searching for any others that may have been placed in the area.
But he added that the mines were far from the main site of the celebrations.
Exactly one year ago, a blast near a crowd celebrating at the shrine killed 33 people in a another attack claimed by IS, which regularly targets Shiites in an attempt to stir up sectarian violence in Sunni-majority Afghanistan.
IS also attacked the shrine in October 2016, when its gunmen killed 18 people gathered there to mark Ashura, an important date for many Muslims, especially Shiites.
Interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said police had discovered and defused 20 more explosive devices in Herat, Balkh and Kabul on Thursday.
Afghan intelligence officials also said they had busted a six-member IS cell including two suicide bombers who had planned to target new year celebrations in Kabul.
