A United Nations vehicle was targeted in a bombing Sunday in the Afghan capital Kabul and initial reports indicated at least one foreign citizen was killed, an Afghan official said.
Nasrat Rahimi, Interior Ministry spokesman, said five others, including two Afghan U.N. workers, were wounded in the attack. The vehicle was heavily damaged.
The blast targeted the vehicle on one of the busiest roads in the city, in police district 9, according to Rahimi.
Afghan security personnel arrive at the site of explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019. An Afghan official said a blast in that capital Kabul targeting a United Nations vehicle has left at least 1 person dead. Nasrat Rahimi, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said several others were wounded in the attack. (AP PhotoRahmat Gul)
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but both Taliban and the Islamic State group are active in the capital and have repeatedly claimed previous attacks.
The Taliban control or hold sway over about half of Afghanistan, staging near-daily attacks that target Afghan forces and government officials across the country.
In central Daykundi Province, at least eight soldiers were killed when Taliban fighters stormed their checkpoint, said provincial Gov. Anwar Rahmati. He said four other soldiers were wounded in the hours-long gunbattle.
Afghan security personnel arrive at the site of explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2019. An Afghan official said a blast in that capital Kabul targeting a United Nations vehicle has left at least 1 person dead. Nasrat Rahimi, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said several others were wounded in the attack. (AP PhotoRahmat Gul)
Rahmati said reinforcements were dispatched early Sunday to the area in Kajran district, driving off the insurgents, killing at least 20 of them.
Qari Yusouf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility for the checkpoint attack. He disputed the Taliban casualty figures provided by the governor and said the insurgents had seized weapons and ammunition.
MANADO, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia's Mount Ruang volcano spewed more hot clouds on Wednesday after an eruption the previous day forced the closure of schools and airports, pelted villages with volcanic debris and prompted hundreds of people to flee.
Seven airports, including Sam Ratulangi international airport in Manado, the capital of North Sulawesi province, remained closed after Tuesday's eruption, the second in two weeks. Schools were shut to protect children from volcanic ash.
The volcano is on tiny Ruang Island, part of the Sitaro islands chain.
The Indonesian geological agency urged people to stay at least 7 kilometers (4 miles) from the volcano’s crater. It warned people on nearby Tagulandang Island, the closest to the volcano, of possible super-heated volcanic clouds from a further eruption and a tsunami if the mountain's volcanic dome collapses into the sea.
Video released by the National Search and Rescue Agency showed about a hundred villagers from Tagulandang Island being evacuated on a navy ship. Hundreds of others were waiting at a local port to be evacuated.
Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said 11,000 to 12,000 people living within a 7-kilometer danger zone would be taken to government shelters.
Tuesday’s eruption darkened the sky and peppered several villages with ash, grit and rocks. No casualties were reported.
After Mount Ruang's April 17 eruption, authorities warned that a subsequent eruption might collapse part of the volcano into the sea.
Ruang is among about 130 active volcanoes in Indonesia. The archipelagic nation is prone to volcanic eruptions and earthquakes because of its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a series of fault lines stretching from the western coast of the Americas through Japan and Southeast Asia.
In this photo released by the Vulcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) of the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Mount Ruang releases volcanic materials during its eruption on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, on Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. Indonesia's Mount Ruang volcano erupted Tuesday for a second time in two weeks, spewing ash almost 2 kilometers (more than a mile) into the sky, closing an airport and peppering nearby villages with debris. (PVMBG via AP Photo)
In this photo provided by the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS), residents of Tagulandang island sit on a ship of National Search and Rescue Agency to evacuate after Mount Ruang releases volcanic materials in Sulawesi island, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Indonesia's Mount Ruang volcano erupted Tuesday for a second time in two weeks, spewing ash almost 2 kilometers (more than a mile) into the sky, closing an airport and peppering nearby villages with debris.(Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency via AP)
In this photo released by the Vulcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center (PVMBG) of the Indonesian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Mount Ruang releases volcanic materials during its eruption, Tuesday, April 30, 2024, on Sulawesi Island, Indonesia. Indonesia's Mount Ruang volcano erupted Tuesday for a second time in two weeks, spewing ash almost 2 kilometers (more than a mile) into the sky, closing an airport and peppering nearby villages with debris. (PVMBG via AP Photo)
Mount Ruang volcano is seen during the eruption from Tagulandang island, Indonesia, Wednesday, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Indonesia's Mount Ruang volcano erupted Tuesday for a second time in two weeks, spewing ash almost 2 kilometers (more than a mile) into the sky, closing an airport and peppering nearby villages with debris.(AP Photo/ Hendra Ambalao)
