Explosions rock funeral in Kabul; at least 6 killed
Explosions in Kabul on Saturday killed at least six people attending a funeral reportedly attended by government officials, including members of parliament, a day after hundreds of demonstrators turned out to demand more security in the capital.
The explosions came just three days after a powerful truck bomb attack in the city that killed 90 people and wounded more than 450. The attack raised fears about the government's ability to protect its citizens nearly 16 years into a war with insurgents.
Wahid Mujro, spokesman for the Public Health ministry, said three explosions rocked a cemetery where Afghan Senator Alam Ezadyar's son was about to be buried. Salim Ezadyar was one of several people killed during the protest on Friday, attended by more than a thousand people in downtown Kabul.
Alam Ezadyar is deputy speaker for the upper house of the Afghanistan Parliament.
A couple hundred protesters passed the night under two big tents on a road near the presidential palace and the blast site and about 200 more joined them during the day. All roads toward the palace and nearby diplomatic areas were blocked Saturday by police and there was limited movement of vehicles and people.
The nature of Friday's demonstration shifted when protesters, many calling for the country's leadership to resign, attempted to move closer to the palace and some rushed police, who fired warning shots and used water cannons and eventually tear gas in attempt to disperse the crowd. The city's police chief said some demonstrators fired weapons in the direction of his men.