At least six civilians were killed on Monday March 27 in Kabul during a suicide attack near the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the first since the start of Ramadan in Afghanistan.
The assailant was targeted by Afghan forces, but the explosives he was carrying "
detonated, killing six civilians and injuring others
", Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Nafy said. Takor, on Twitter.
An explosion close to the ministry
An AFP correspondent said the explosion occurred in front of a business center, not far from the ministry.
The Italian non-governmental organization Emergency, which runs a hospital in the capital, said on Twitter that it had received two dead and 12 injured, including a child, in its establishment.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
This is the first attack in Afghanistan since the start of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, last Thursday.
Last year several attacks were perpetrated during this period in the country.
This is the second time in less than three months that an attack has been perpetrated near the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On January 11, a suicide attack in front of the entrance to this ministry, claimed by the jihadist group EI-K, the local branch of the Islamic State (IS) group, left 10 dead and 53 injured, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission. United Nations in Afghanistan (UNAMA).
An AFP employee on site saw a man with a Kalashnikov over his shoulder and carrying a bag blow himself up.
The Islamic State of Khorasan (IS-K) has increased attacks against foreigners, religious minorities and government institutions.
The return to power of the Taliban ended two decades of war against NATO forces and the United States, leading to a significant reduction in violence.
But since last year, IS has become the biggest security challenge for the government.
The Taliban against ISIS
The IS and the Taliban share an austere Sunni Islamist ideology, but the former fights for the establishment of a global "
caliphate
", while the latter wishes to lead an independent Afghanistan.
On December 12, five Chinese citizens were injured in the attack by armed men on a hotel in the Afghan capital housing Chinese businessmen.
This raid was claimed by IS, as was the attack on the Pakistani embassy in Kabul, also in December.
Islamabad had denounced an "
assassination attempt
" against its ambassador.
In September, an influential pro-Taliban imam at one of the largest mosques in western Herat, Mujib ur Rahman Ansari, was killed in a huge explosion, which also killed 17 other people. .
That same month, two employees of the Russian embassy in Kabul and four Afghans were killed near the official building in a suicide attack claimed by IS.