A pair of suicide bombings in Afghanistan have killed at least 25 people, including nine journalists, according to the country’s health ministry.
ISIS claimed responsibility for the bombings on Monday in Kabul, the country’s capital.
The Afghan government said Monday’s first explosion in Kabul came from an attacker who was on a motorcycle. When journalists responded to cover the first explosion, a second attacker dressed as a journalist got close to the scene and detonated the second blast among the reporters, the health ministry said.
In addition to the dead, the government also confirmed at least 45 people were wounded.
According to the health ministry, among the dead was Shah Marai, a longtime photographer for Agence France-Presse (AFP), and Ebadullah Hananzai and Sabawoon Kakar, from Radio Free Europe. The other journalists killed in the attack belonged to local outlets: Yar Mohammad Tokhi, a Tolonews cameraman; Ghazi Rasooli, a 1TV reporter; Nowrooz Rajabj, a 1TV cameraman; Saleem Talash, a Mashal TV reporter; Mahram Durani, a journalist from Shamsad TV; and Ali Salimi, a Mashal TV cameraman.
No one had claimed responsibility for the attack in the immediate aftermath. The number of attacks have stepped up in Afghanistan recently, including an ambulance bomb that killed 50 on April 22 and six people, including two soldiers, who were killed in a car bombing on Saturday, according to The Associated Press.
ABC News’ Aleem Agha contributed to this report from Kabul.
