Kabul Funeral Blasts: Up to 20 dead, 87 injured after 3 explosions

Up to 20 people have been killed and 87 injured in three successive explosions centered around a funeral taking place in downtown Kabul Saturday, reports the TOLO news network.
Abdullah Abdullah, the Chief Executive of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and Acting foreign affairs minister Salahuddin Rabbani were both in attendance along with other government officials at the funeral at the time of the explosions. All were unharmed.

Security forces have set up a cordon around the Khair Khana area of Kabul where the triple explosions took place. The Taliban have denied responsibility for the attack according to local media.

The funeral was reportedly for Salim Izadyar, a protester and son of an Afghan senator, who was shot dead in violent anti-government protests which took place in Kabul Friday.

His father Alam Ezadyar is the deputy speaker for the upper house of the Afghanistan Parliament.

Up to five people were killed during the protests according to Afghanistan’s deputy interior minister, as cited by Reuters. Protesters planned a second day of demonstration on Saturday to call for increased security in the capital which has been wracked by violence.