Student bus targeted amid deadly wave of Kabul bombings

Two people killed and dozens more wounded as bombings hit civilian targets

KABUL: Two people were killed and dozens more wounded in Kabul on Sunday as a wave of bombings hit civilian targets -- including a university school bus -- across the Afghan capital.

The yellow bus had been heading to Kabul Education University in the western part of the city on Sunday morning when it was hit by a sticky bomb -- a growing menace in Kabul, where insurgents and criminals use magnets to slap explosives on vehicles.

The device had been placed under the bus, interior ministry spokesperson Nasrat Rahimi said. In the immediate aftermath, as people rushed to help victims, two more bombs that had been planted by the side of the road went off, he added.

Among the wounded was an Afghan journalist who appeared to have been live-streaming the aftermath of the first explosion when he was hit in a secondary blast.  The journalist was expected to recover from his leg wounds.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility.

Initial reports said the bus was carrying university officials, but Kabul police spokesperson Firdaws Faramarz later said students had been on board.

According to health ministry spokesperson Wahidullah Mayar, two people were killed and 24 more wounded. Among those wounded were five Afghan security forces.

A fourth blast rocked Kabul later Sunday, when yet another sticky bomb hit a vehicle in the western part of the city. Initial reports said three people were wounded.

President Muhammad Ashraf Ghani condemned the attacks, saying the "enemy" cannot "weaken the faith of our people for a bright and progressive future of Afghanistan."

Afghanistan's IS affiliate, known IS-K, has claimed responsibility for a string of horrific bombings targeting numerous civilian, religious and political targets in recent years.

The continued violence in Afghanistan comes even as the Taliban and the US are set to begin a new round of peace talks in Doha this month.