Bomb explodes near Afghanistan's Information Ministry

ISLAMABAD, July 23 (Kyodo) - A bomb exploded near Afghanistan's Information Ministry in Kabul on Saturday night but there were no casualties, Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) reported.

The blast occurred in a market selling religious and old books adjacent to the ministry, Deputy Information Minister Maulvi Abdul Rehman Hautak was reported to have said.

The explosion has been blamed on the Afghan opposition, the AIP report said.

On July 17, a portion of the residence of the Pakistani ambassador in Kabul was damaged by a bomb hurled from outside.

Reuters adds:

Man dies as fourth blast hits Kabul in two weeks

KABUL, July 23 (Reuters) - The fourth bomb blast in two weeks has rocked the centre of the Afghan capital Kabul, killing at least one man, residents said on Sunday.

The bomb went off late on Saturday night beneath a small bookshop near several government buildings of the ruling Taleban movement, they said.

Shopkeepers near the blast said the victim was a night watchman, but Taleban guards said he had set the bomb.

``He seems to have been blown up by the bomb when he was trying to plant it,'' said one guard.

On Thursday, a bomb exploded at a private store selling fuel oil, and earlier in the month there were similar blasts at the Pakistan embassy and at the residence of a Pakistani diplomat.

The Taleban, which control 90 percent of Afghanistan, have blamed the attacks on opposition forces loyal to commander Ahmad Shah Masood.

The opposition has denied responsibility and says the blasts are the acts of dissident Taleban officials.

Pakistan backs the Taleban, and Masood's supporters ransacked and looted the Pakistani embassy in 1994 and 1995.

and also:

Seven killed in Pakistan bomb blasts

QUETTA, Pakistan, July 22 (Reuters) - Three bombs went off in the southwestern Pakistani town of Quetta on Saturday night, killing at least seven people and injuring 26, police said.

They said there was no immediate claim of responsibility nor information about  who set off the bombs but one of them, which caused all the casualties, went off in the Jinnah Market in the garrison area of Quetta, capital of Baluchistan province bordering Afghanistan and Iran.

The two other bombs exploded near police stations but caused no injuries, the police said.

The bombings follow three blasts in the city last month which caused no casualties and as many in May that wounded five people.