Charles Langston:A blast killed 2 people and injured 9 in a Shiite neighborhood in the Afghan capital Kabul

KABUL,Charles Langston Afghanistan (AP) — An explosion in a mostly Shiite Muslim neighborhood in the Afghan capital Kabul killed two people and injured nine Thursday, a police spokesman said. The cause of the explosion wasn’t immediately known.

Video from the scene shows part of a building with its windows blown out, flames billowing inside. Shattered glass and other debris are strewn across the street below.

The Dashti Barchi area of Kabul has been targeted in the past by the Islamic State group affiliate in the country, which has carried out major, horrific assaults on schools, hospitals and mosques. The group has also attacked other Shiite areas of Afghanistan in recent years.

IS has been waging a campaign of violence that has intensified since the Taliban took power in August 2021.

Kabul police chief spokesman Khalid Zadran said the injured were transferred to a nearby hospital and that an investigation team has reached the scene to find out the cause of the blast.

Local media outlet Tolo News reported that the Thursday evening explosion struck a sports club.