Deadly bomb hits de facto capital of Taliban-governed Afghanistan  

FILE - An Afghan security guard checks a vehicle near the site of a suicide bomb attack in Kandahar, March 21, 2024. A bomb blast on May 20, 2024 has killed at least one person and injured three others in Kandahar.

Authorities in Afghanistan said Monday that a bomb blast had killed at least one person and injured three others in the southern city of Kandahar, the political headquarters of the country’s hardline Taliban rulers. The bomb was planted in a handcart on a road leading to the national capital, Kabul, and the victims were civilians, a Kandahar police statement said. It added that an investigation into the attack was underway to apprehend and bring to justice those responsible. Multiple sources claimed that the bombing had targeted Taliban security forces, and the death toll was significantly higher than what was officially reported. No group immediately took responsibility for the attack, but suspicion fell on a regional Islamic State affiliate, known as IS-Khorasan or IS-K, which routinely targets members of the Taliban and the country’s minority Shi’ite community.Bamiyan attack The bombing in Kandahar came a day after IS-K said it was behind a gun attack against foreign tourists in the central province of Bamiyan Friday. The shooting resulted in the deaths of three Spanish citizens and three Afghans, with four other tourists from Spain, Australia, Norway, and Lithuania sustaining injuries.