Kabul: More than 20 victims in suicide attack

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A roadblock at the site of the suicide bombing

Photo: WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP

At least 20 people were injured or killed in a suicide attack near the Afghan foreign ministry in Kabul on Wednesday.

He saw a man "blow himself up," said AFP staffer Jamshed Karimi.

However, he could not say how many of the “20 to 25 victims” were dead and how many were injured.

The Taliban, who rule Afghanistan, claim to have improved security in the country since returning to power in August 2021.

However, since then there have been a large number of bomb blasts and attacks.

The local offshoot of the Islamic State (IS) jihadist militia claimed responsibility for most of them.

IS intensifies attacks in Afghanistan

Since the Taliban took power, IS has stepped up its attacks in Afghanistan.

The focus is mostly on religious minorities and foreign embassies.

Both IS and the Taliban belong to Sunni Islam.

However, both are at odds with each other.

A team from the AFP news agency was conducting an interview at the neighboring Ministry of Information at the time of the attack.

Driver Karimi was waiting in the car when he saw a man with a backpack and a Kalashnikov rifle over his shoulder.

"He passed my car and after a few seconds there was a loud explosion," Karimi said.

Pictures from the scene showed bodies lying in the snow on the street in front of the building in the center of the capital.

Police spokesman Khalid Sadran confirmed the explosion, "which unfortunately resulted in casualties."

Security forces have arrived in the area, Sadran said on Twitter.

According to Deputy Information Minister Muhadscher Farahi, a visit by a Chinese delegation to the Foreign Ministry was planned for Wednesday.

"We don't know if they were there at the time of the explosion," he told AFP.

On December 12, IS fighters carried out an attack on a hotel in Kabul frequented by Chinese.

Several people died as a result.

till/AFP