At least 19 killed in blasts in Afghan capital

A series of blasts in Kabul onSaturday killed at least 19 people at a funeral for one of the victims of clashes between police and protesters a day before.

The latest explosions continued a wave of violence in thecapital since a devastating truck bomb on Wednesday.

Saturday's blasts shattered an uneasy calm which haddescended after authorities blocked the streets of Kabul in abid to prevent a repeat of the bloody confrontation betweenprotesters and police on Friday.

• ANALYSIS |Afghan civilians bear brunt of U.S.-led war
• Explosion in diplomatic row of Kabul kills 90, wounds hundreds

The violence, fuelled by public anger over the inability ofPresident Ashraf Ghani's divided government to ensure securityin Kabul, has exacerbated political tensions between rivalfactions, and Ghani issued a call for unity.

"The country is under attack," Ghani said in a message onTwitter. "We must be strong and united."

Kabul's Italian-run Emergency Hospital, which has treated astream of wounded over the past few days, said 19 people hadbeen reported killed and 16 wounded had been brought to thehospital. The interior ministry said there were six dead and 87
wounded.

Government Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah was at thefuneral but was unharmed, while survivors said a series ofexplosions had ripped through the crowd, most of whom appearedto be linked to Abdullah's mainly Tajik Jamiat-e-Islami party.

• Demonstration in Kabul turns deadly
• OPINION |Canada should join its closest allies and return to Afghanistan

"There were sounds of explosions everywhere and I saw myhands and face were on fire," said Mohammad Azim, who was beingtreated for burns at the Emergency Hospital. "There were partsof human bodies everywhere."

One of the most bloody weeks in Kabul for months began withthe devastating truck bomb attack in the city's diplomatic zoneon Wednesday morning which killed more than 80 people andwounded more than 460.

That was followed by five more deaths on Friday duringclashes which broke out between protesters and police at a rallydemanding the resignations of Ghani and Abdullah over repeatedsecurity failures.

As the violence has continued, it has become increasinglypoliticized, exacerbating tensions between rival ethnicallybased political groups.

Taliban blames government factions

The Taliban, which has often carried out bomb attacks in thepast, issued a swift denial that it had any role and insteadblamed factional rivalries in the government's own camp, thegroup's spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said.

Saturday's blasts occurred at the funeral of the son of thedeputy Senate speaker, Mohammad Alam Izadyar, an ethnic Tajikally of Abdullah. He died after being seriously injured inclashes during Friday's protest.

Rahmatullah Begana, who was at the funeral, said the firstexplosion occurred as the mullah made the first call to prayerand as people scattered, it was followed by another.

"I saw a lot of people lying on the ground," he said.

The violence further complicates the situation confrontingU.S. and coalition officials as they work on plans expected tosee an increase of between 3,000 and 5,000 in the number offoreign troops in Afghanistan.

As anger against the government has grown, Ghani'sinternational partners have become increasingly alarmed, withthe United Nations calling for restraint and the U.S. embassy inKabul warning against letting protests be taken over.

"While peaceful demonstrations are welcome in a democracy,some narrow political elements used this opportunity to sparkviolence, resulting in more death and suffering," the embassysaid. The statement was released after Friday's clashes butbefore the latest attacks on Saturday.

With much of the capital locked down by security forces, agroup of around 200 protesters remained near the blast site inthe centre of town, sheltering from the sun in open tents.

Otherwise, security authorities in Kabul told people not toattend protests and demonstrations, citing the risk of attackson large gatherings of people.

While unusually large, Wednesday's truck bomb scarcelydiffered from a long series of previous high-profile militantattacks that have killed hundreds of civilians in Afghanistansince most international forces left the country in 2014.In the first three months of the year at least 715 civilianswere killed across the country, after almost 3,500 in 2016, thedeadliest year on record for Afghan civilians.