Afghanistan: Bomb attack hits Ahmed Shah Massoud’s supporters

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Afghanistan: Bomb attack hits Ahmed Shah Massoud’s supporters

A suicide bomber has blown himself up close to a procession commemorating the death of a former anti-Soviet and anti-Taliban commander, wounding at least two people, a police spokesperson said.

The attacker targeted a convoy of gunmen marking the 17th anniversary of Ahmed Shah Massoud’s death in the centre of the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Sunday, according to police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai. 

He told AFP news agency there were no reports of fatalities other than the death of the perpetrator.

The blast on Sunday came hours after another suspected suicide bomber was shot by police in Kabul before he could detonate his device.

He was gunned down near supporters of Massoud, dubbed the Lion of Panjshir, a Tajik fighter who led resistance to the Soviet occupation in the 1980s and to the 1996-2001 Taliban government.

Massoud was killed two days before the 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington that precipitated the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

The attacks on Sunday follow a spate of deadly attacks in the city, including a double bombing at a wrestling club on Wednesday that killed at least 26 people, including two journalists, and wounded 91 people.