Kabul: An Afghan official says three explosions have struck near a Shiite shrine and cemetery in western Kabul as people gathered there to mark the holiday of Nowruz, the Persian New Year.

The explosions killed six people and wounded 23, a spokesman for the health ministry said.

Two mortars bombs were fired in the west of Kabul, a spokesman for the interior ministry said.

Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi says Shiite worshippers came to the Karti Sakhi shrine in the Afghan capital when the blasts took place on Thursday morning, local time, in the Shiite neighbourhood. The tradition at the shrine is to hoist green flags and honour the dead at the cemetery by placing food at the gravesides.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan has in the past targeted the country's Shiites. The Sunni militant group considers Shiite Muslims heretics.

AP