KABUL — A suicide bomber struck a voter registration center in the Afghancapital on Sunday, killing at least 48 people in an attack claimed by theIslamic State group.
Public Health Ministry spokesman Wahid Majro said another 112 people werewounded in Sunday’s attack, updating an earlier toll. Gen. Daud Amin, theKabul police chief, said the suicide bomber targeted civilians who hadgathered to receive national identification cards.
The large explosion echoed across the city, shattering windows miles awayfrom the attack site and damaging several nearby vehicles. Police blockedall roads to the blast site, with only ambulances allowed in. Local TVstations broadcast live footage of hundreds of distraught people gatheredat nearby hospitals seeking word about loved ones.
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility in a statement carriedby its Aamaq news agency, saying it had targeted Shiite “apostates.”
Afghanistan will hold parliamentary elections in October.
Last week, three police officers responsible for guarding voterregistration centers in two Afghan provinces were killed by militants,according to authorities.
Afghan security forces have struggled to prevent attacks by the IslamicState affiliate as well as the more firmly established Taliban since theU.S. and NATO concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014. Bothgroups regularly launch attacks, with the Taliban usually targeting thegovernment and security forces, and IS targeting the country’s Shiiteminority.