Three explosions struck a compound that houses Tebyan, a cultural center with links to Shiite-dominated Iran, during a commemoration of the December 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, officials said. Witnesses and journalists said that dozens of students and other visitors had gathered at the cultural center in Dasht-e Barchi, a western Kabul neighborhood with a large Shiite population. The South Asian branch of the Sunni militant organization has previously targeted Shiites and other religious minorities in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Islamic State’s attacks against Afghan Shiites were part of an effort to weaken Iran’s influence in the region, analysts said. The Afghan Journalists Safety Committee, a nongovernmental group, reported 73 cases of violence against journalists and media workers, including 10 deaths, in the first six months of 2017: a sharp rise from the year before.

Source: Los Angeles Times December 28, 2017 09:11 UTC