KABUL – Some 20 people were killed or injured after a suicide bomber blewhimself up next to a group of security officers in Kabul, Afghanistan’sInterior Ministry has said. The attack targeted an anti-drug raid close tothe US Embassy.
While Reuters quoted Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish as saying 20people were “killed and wounded,” the local TOLO news agency put the numberof fatalities at 15, citing the health ministry and Kabul police. It saidat least 20 wounded people had been taken to a local hospital following theattack.
The attack reportedly occurred in Kabul’s PD9 district, located to thenortheast of the area where foreign embassies are located.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack and ordered aninvestigation into the blast, a statement from the presidential office said.
Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) has claimed responsibility for thesuicide attack, according to the terrorist group’s mouthpiece, Amaq. IS didnot provide any proof to back up its claim.
It’s the second major blast in the Afghan capital within a week. OnDecember 28, at least 40 people were killed and 80 wounded in a suicidebombing attack which targeted the Shiite Tebyan cultural center. IS alsoclaimed responsibility for the December attack.