Attack injures two near office of ex-Afghan PM Hekmatyar, his party says

Sources say multiple attackers were killed and several guards injured in the incident

KABUL:

An attack on Friday injured two people in Kabul near the office of the Hezb-e-Islami party associated with former Afghan prime minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, but all senior leaders were safe, the party said in a statement.

Three Hezb-e-Islami sources and one source with the ruling Taliban said multiple attackers were killed and several guards injured in the incident. Kabul police and the interior ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The attack occurred near a mosque where senior party leaders were present, but all - including Hekmatyar - were unscathed, according to the party statement and his grandson, Obaidullah Baheer.

It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack.

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Several bombing and shooting attacks have taken place in Afghanistan in recent months, some of which have been claimed by Islamic State militants. A blast at a madrassa on Wednesday in northern Afghanistan killed at least 15 people.

The hardline Taliban, which seized power after US-led foreign forces withdrew in August 2021, say they are focused on securing the country.

Hekmatyar founded Hezb-e-Islami in the mid-1970s as one of the main mujahideen groups fighting the 1980s Soviet invasion of Afghanistan from its base in Pakistan. He held the office of prime minister twice during the 1990s.