At least 35 dead in Afghanistan suicide attack
The death toll in a suicide blast that hit the Afghan capital of Kabulhas risen to 35, an interior ministry spokesperson has said.
The car bomb detonated in a Shia neighbourhood in the west of the city during Monday rush hour, ramming into the side of a bus carrying government employees on their way to work, Basir Mujahed told media.
At least 42 more people were injured in the explosion, including children, he added, and the death toll was likely to rise. In a statement Afghan president Ashraf Ghani condemned the violence as a terrorist attack “on humanity”.
“The bomber attacked at one of the busiest times of the day,” Mr Mujahed continued. “There were traffic jams with people going to work and to the university and schools. Many of the shops had just opened.”
The bus, three other vehicles and several nearby businesses were destroyed in the blast, which sent a tower of black smoke into the sky and shattered the glass of windows up and down the street.
The Taliban was quick to claim the attack, which it said killed 37 ‘intelligence officers’. The Afghan government said many of those killed were employees of the mines and petroleum ministry.
