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Residents near the attack site in western Kabul
Photo: - / AFP
According to the authorities, at least 18 people were killed in a suicide attack in Kabul.
57 others were injured in the attack on a training center in the western district of Dascht-e Bartschi, said a spokesman for the Interior Ministry on Saturday evening (local time).
Security forces discovered the perpetrator when he tried to gain access to the facility.
Shortly afterwards, he blew himself up in an alley - and in the process killed many young people.
According to the information, most of the victims were between 15 and 26 years old.
The terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) claimed the attack for itself.
A "martyr knight" detonated an explosive belt in a gathering of Shiites, according to the IS platform Nashir News.
The western district of Kabul, which is mainly inhabited by Shiites, has often been the target of terrorist attacks in the past.
Sunni extremists like the supporters of IS fight against Shiites as apostates.
"Cowardly and Godless Terrorists"
In March, IS carried out two attacks in West Kabul with dozen dead, targeting Shiites and followers of the Sikh religion.
In an attack on a maternity ward in May, strangers killed many mothers with their newborn children.
The US blamed ISIS for this.
Abdullah Abdullah, chairman of the Afghan High Council for Reconciliation, condemned the attack.
"Cowardly and godless terrorists have shown by attacking innocent children and students that they do not adhere to any religion or principle," said Abdullah, according to a statement.
Peace talks with many dampers
The radical Islamic Taliban had previously rejected responsibility for the crime.
You are currently holding talks with representatives of the Afghan government in the Qatari capital Doha, which are supposed to pacify the country after years of armed conflict - but so far without success.
Efforts had recently suffered another setback: at least 25 security guards were killed in a Taliban attack in the north of the country.
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fek / dpa / Reuters / AP