Afghanistan: At least twelve killed in Kabul suicide blast

More than 30 wounded in attack at the entrance of a government building in the west of Kabul, an official said.

Afghan policemen keep watch near the site of a suicide attack in Kabul
Woman, children and employees of the rehabilitation ministry are among the victims, according to a government spokesman [Mohammad Ismail/Reuters]

At least 12 people have been killed, and more than 30 others wounded after a suicide bomber targeted an Afghan ministry building in Kabul, a government spokesman said.

The attacker blew himself at the entrance of the Rural Rehabilitation and Development Ministry in the west of the capital of Afghanistan, interior ministry spokesman, Najib Danish, said on Monday.

“Woman, children and employees of the (rehabilitation) ministry are among the victims,” the interior ministry spokesman told Reuters news agency.

No group has claimed responsibility for the deadly attack.

Afghan Taliban on Saturday announced a surprise three-day ceasefire over the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday at the end of this week, their first offer of its kind.

The Taliban ceasefire came days after the government declared an unconditional ceasefire of its own against the armed group.

It was not clear exactly when the Taliban ceasefire would begin, as Eid starts when the moon is first sighted; it will be Thursday or Friday. The government ceasefire runs until June 20.

Meanwhile on Monday, at least six civilians were killed in Ghazni province when a roadside bomb struck a minibus. In a separate attack in the same province, up to 10 Taliban fighters and three policemen were killed in clashes with security forces.

In Jalalabad, three attackers were shot dead on Monday by security forces as they tried to storm the city’s education department, Attahullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor of Nangarhar province said. At least 10 civilians were wounded in the attack.

Last week, a motorcycle suicide bomber killed 14 people near a gathering of Muslim scholars in the Afghan capital after they had issued a religious ruling against suicide bombings, officials said, in the latest in a series of attacks to hit Kabul.

In April, two explosions hit Kabul killing at least 26 people, including nine journalists who had arrived to report on an initial blast and were targeted by a suicide bomber.

A week earlier, 60 people were killed and more than 100 wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a voter registration centre in the city.

Armed group the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) has claimed responsibility for many attacks in Kabul.

 

Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies