Iran condemns Kabul twin blasts, urges unity

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif condemned twin bomb attacks by the Islamic State group that ripped through crowds of minority Shiite Hazaras in the Afghan capital, killing at least 80.

"Afghanistan terror bombings another instance of depth of Daesh depravity: Shia and Sunni are both victims & must unite to defeat extremists," Zarif tweeted on Saturday, using another name for IS.

Foreign ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi added that "eradicating this unfortunate phenomenon (IS) wouldn't be possible without a joint cooperation and understanding among all countries".

The "inhumane and un-Islamic" attacks were "unjustifiable anywhere," he added.

IS claimed responsibility for the Saturday blasts, which hit during a huge protest in Kabul, and which were the deadliest attacks there since 2001.

The first major IS assault on Kabul was apparently aimed at sowing sectarian discord in a country known for relative Shia-Sunni harmony.

Iran, a country with a large Shiite majority, has a long border with Afghanistan, where the minority Hazara Shiites were bombed on Saturday.

Source: AFP