Two explosions have killed at least nine people and wounded 13 in an apparent coordinated attack on two minibuses in Afghanistan's northern province of Balkh.
A spokesman for Taliban-appointed police said on April 28 that two bombs detonated aboard the two separate vehicles within minutes of each other in the provincial capital, Mazar-e-Sharif.
"The targets appear to be Shi’ite passengers," said spokesman Mohammad Asif Waziri. "The enemies of Afghanistan are creating tension and division among our people."
No group has claimed responsibility.
The attacks are the latest in a series of deadly bombings in the volatile country.
Last week, 33 Shi'ite worshippers were killed in a bomb attack that targeted a mosque and an adjacent building of a religious school. The Islamic State (IS) terrorist organization’s affiliate claimed responsibility for that bombing.
Shi’ite Afghans, who are mostly from the Hazara community, make up between 10 and 20 percent of Afghanistan's population of 38 million.
The regional branch of IS in Sunni-majority Afghanistan has repeatedly targeted Shi’a and minorities such as Sufis, who follow a mystical branch of Islam.
IS, which wants to create an Islamic caliphate stretching from Turkey to Pakistan, and the Taliban, whose goal is an Afghanistan free of foreign force, are foes.
Both IS and the Taliban are followers of Sunni Islam.