KABUL: A bomb exploded close to a checkpoint at Kabul’s navy airport on Sunday morning killing and wounding “a number of” individuals, a Taliban official stated, the primary lethal blast of 2023 in Afghanistan.Nobody instantly claimed accountability for the assault, however the regional affiliate of the Islamic State group — often known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province — has elevated its assaults for the reason that Taliban takeover in 2021.Targets have included Taliban patrols and members of Afghanistan’s Shiite minority.The navy airport is round 200 metres from the civilian airport and near the Inside Ministry, itself the positioning of a suicide bombing final October that killed a minimum of 4 individuals.Inside Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafi Takor stated the blast left a number of individuals lifeless and wounded. He gave no precise figures or additional details about the bombing, saying particulars of an investigation will probably be shared later.Though Taliban safety forces prevented pictures and filming straight on the blast web site, the checkpoint appeared broken however intact. It’s on Airport Highway, which results in high-security neighbourhoods housing authorities ministries, international embassies and the presidential palace.A spokesman for the Kabul police chief, Khalid Zadran, was not instantly accessible for remark.