The Afghan capital was shaken by two explosions near key ministries early Thursday but no loss of life or major damage was reported, residents and officials said.
The first blast shattered shop windows near the education ministry and Kabul's popular Zarnegar Park, while the second rocked the foreign ministry, causing only minor damage.
Officials with the ruling Taliban militia instantly blamed saboteurs from the opposition alliance headed by ousted defense minister Ahmad Shah Masood.
"The opposition do it in order to disrupt security and to defame the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban)," a Taliban soldier inspecting one of the blast sites said.
The bombs, planted in drains, went off within 30 minutes of each other just before sunrise.
Masood spokesman Mohammad Habeel said the blasts were a product of internal rifts in the Taliban.
"We categorically deny this. There are some groups inside the Taliban who do this," he said.
A series of bomb blasts shook Kabul last month, apparently targeting the Iranian embassy, downtown Neikzad Hotel and the supreme court. Last year similar explosions rocked the Pakistani embassy.
Although the bombs have caused no casualties and only minor damage, security has been tightened in the war-ravaged city with check-points on all main roads.
The Taliban has also publicly hanged four people for setting off bombs at the behest of Masood.
Two local guards of French aid group Medecins du Monde were arrested last month for allegedly throwing grenades at frontline Taliban commander Mulla Dadullah, who was not hurt in the attack.
The Taliban Islamic militia seized Kabul in 1996 but has yet to wipe out various resistance groups which are mainly concentrated in the rugged northeast.
Sporadic but heavy battles have raged along the frontlines 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of Kabul in recent weeks -- KABUL (AFP)
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
