six people killed, and 23 wounded in an attack during celebrations to mark the Persian new year in Afghan Kabul.
The attacks came on Nowruz, an ancient Persian festival to mark the start of spring that is widely celebrated in Afghanistan but has also faced opposition from some hardline Islamists, who say it is un-Islamic.
There were conflicting reports about of the cause of the blasts near the Kart-e Sakhi shrine, in a heavily Shi’ite Muslim area in the west of Kabul.
An interior ministry spokesman said mortar bombs had been fired. The defence ministry said in a post on twitter that three rockets were fired at civilian homes and Nowruz gatherings.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, the group’s news agency AMAQ said, without providing evidence of its claim.
Broken windows and collapsed walls were visible on homes and shops near the blast site. Blood stained the side of the road.
“It was terrible,” said Sayed Samim Sadat, a shopkeeper, who said he and his family were unhurt. “We were all sitting in our home and all the glass blew in on us.”
Elderly resident Haji Rajab Ali said he saw two explosions in front of him and later awoke to find himself in hospital.
Afghanistan’s defence ministry said police had arrested Thursday’s attacker and secured the area.
The attack happened two weeks after a mortar attack on a Shi’ite Muslim gathering in Kabul that killed 11 people. Islamic State also claimed responsibility for that attack.