A suicide bomber on Wednesday killed dozens of people, many of them teenagers, after detonating a device among a crowd in Kabul who were celebrating the Persian New Year holiday, officials said. There were distressing scenes at the hospital opposite the blast site where grief-stricken relatives screamed as they clutched and hugged the bloodied bodies of their loved ones, on what is normally a day of celebration for Afghan families. The Islamic State group's local franchise in Afghanistan claimed responsibility for the assault in the heavily Shiite neighbourhood - the fifth suicide bombing in the Afghan capital in recent weeks - via the messaging app Telegram. The blast killed 33 and wounded 65, the health ministry said, up from an earlier toll given by the interior ministry of 26 dead and 18 hurt. All the injured were civilians, said interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi. Afghan officials often give conflicting tolls in the wake of attacks and they routinely understate the figures. … [Read more...] about IS suicide bomber kills dozens as Kabul marks Persian New Year
Suicide bomb vest
Brussels train station ‘terrorist’ bomber shot dead
Belgian soldiers shot and killed a suspected "terrorist" bomber after an explosion rocked a central Brussels train station Tuesday in the latest attack to hit Europe. Witnesses said the suspect shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest) before setting off the blast, which triggered a small but intense ball of flames in the station hall. There were no other casualties apart from the suspect, who was confirmed dead by prosecutors hours after the attack. Crying rail passengers fled the station after the explosion, with memories still fresh of last year's metro and airport suicide attacks in the city that hosts the E.U.'s headquarters. "This is considered as a terrorist attack," federal prosecutor's office spokesman Eric Van Der Sypt told a news conference outside the station. The blast in Belgium came a day after a man mowed down Muslims near a mosque in London, and a suspected Islamist on a terror watchlist rammed a car laden with weapons into a police vehicle in … [Read more...] about Brussels train station ‘terrorist’ bomber shot dead
Attackers raid Iran parliament and mausoleum, up to seven dead: Iranian media
Attackers raided Iran's parliament and set off a suicide bomb at the Mausoleum of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran on Wednesday, killing up to seven people in a twin assault at the heart of the Islamic Republic, Iranian media reported. Smoke is seen during a gunmen attack at the parliament's building in central Tehran, Iran, June 7, 2017. The Iranian Intelligence Ministry said security forces had arrested a "terrorist team" planning a third attack, without giving further details. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks in a statement. If confirmed, they would be the first assaults by the hardline Sunni Muslim group inside the Shi'ite Muslim country. The attacks, targeting parliament and the shrine of the Republic's revered founder, Ayatollah Khomeini, took place less than a month after the re-election of President Hassan Rouhani, a … [Read more...] about Attackers raid Iran parliament and mausoleum, up to seven dead: Iranian media