ISIS suicide bombers kill at least 80, wounds 231 at Afghan protest

BREAKING: ISIS claims responsibility for the Afghanistan explosion that killed at least 61 https://t.co/BxJ4V0XWBz pic.twitter.com/sFTUGwCfaI

— CNN (@CNN) July 23, 2016

(NYP) ISIS claimed responsibility Saturday for two suicide bombings that ripped through Kabul, killing at least 80 people and wounding hundreds during a protest by Shia minorities in the Afghan capital.

The attack came as thousands of ethnic Hazaras gathered at Demazang Square to demand that a major power line pass through their electricity-starved province of Bamiyan, one of the poorest areas of Afghanistan.

One suicide bomber was shot by police, presidential spokesman Haroon Chakhansuri said. [...]

“Two fighters of the Islamic State detonated their explosive belts in a gathering of Shiites in Kabul,” Amaaq said.

If true, it would mark the first such attack by the jihadist group in Kabul, which had been on edge after another massive attack in April that left 64 people dead.

The National Directorate of Security, Afghanistan’s main intelligence agency, said the attack was masterminded by Abu Ali, an ISIS commander in Nangarhar’s volatile Achin district.

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