Deaths as Taliban targets Afghan intelligence convoy
At least five people killed in the attack on Afghanistan’s National Directorate of Security in Kabul.
A suicide bomber detonated his explosives near an Afghan intelligence convoy on Thursday, killing at least five people and wounding six, police said, in the latest deadly attack.
The Kabul Security Commandment spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai said the attack took place in the vicinity of Bagh Daud area in the 5th police district of Kabul.
At least five people were killed, including four members of the National Directorate of Security (NDS), while five NDS personnel and a civilian were wounded.
The attacker was “most likely” driving a vehicle carrying explosives, Stanikzai added.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which police spokesman Stanikzai said happened at 5am (0030 GMT) on Thursday.
Gafoor Azizi, a district police chief in western Kabul, said two vehicles caught fire.
The attack comes as armed groups have been ramping up attacks in key provinces and cities of Afghanistan, including its capital Kabul, during recent months.
The assault comes two days after five rockets were fired on a residential area of Kabul, wounding at least three people. There was no claim of responsibility.
On Sunday, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives near Kabul’s international airport, killing at least 23 people, including Agence France Press driver Mohammad Akhtar. At least 107 people were wounded.
That attack was claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), which said it had targeted Afghan Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum, who was returning to Kabul after more than a year in exile.
The Taliban and members of ISIL have repeatedly carried out deadly attacks in the Afghan capital, turning it into one of the most dangerous places in the country.
According to the UN, a total of 1,692 people have been killed in the first half of 2018, with another 3,430 people wounded – the highest figure since it began keeping records in 2009.