Early morning IED blasts and armed attack continue to rattle Kabul 

An Afghan National Army colonel who served for the logistics department of the Defense Ministry and his driver were killed in an attack by unknown armed men in Kart-e-Naw in Kabul’s PD8 on Saturday morning, defense ministry officials confirmed. 

In addition to this, three explosions were reported in Kabul city early Saturday morning, leaving one person dead and four others wounded, Kabul police confirmed.

Police said in a statement the first explosion happened at about 6.30am in Sarak-e-Naw in PD5 when an IED was detonated against a private vehicle.

The second incident took place in Hangarha Circle in PD15 at 7.20am. The target was a police vehicle. 

The third explosion was in Company area in PD5. 

The latest explosions come just hours after President Ashraf Ghani met with Kabul police officials and ordered them to take steps to improve the security situation in the capital. 

According to the Presidential Palace, security officials were told by the president that he had “visited police stations, the situation is not acceptable to me and there is immediate need for administrative changes.”

Ghani also called out police chiefs and said they need to pay more attention to their duties and ensure individuals who break the law are dealt with according to the law. 

Kabul has seen a sharp rise in IED explosions – specifically magnetic devices against targeted vehicles – in the past few weeks. 

In addition, at least three people were killed last week when a rocket attack was launched against the city center.