At least 20 people have been killed after a suspected suicide bomber killed himself outside the foreign ministry in Kabul in the second major attack in the Afghan capital this year. A Taliban official stated.
According to Ustad Fareedun, an official with the Taliban-run information ministry, the bomber intended to enter the foreign ministry but failed. He went on to say that the blast killed at least 20 people and injured many more.
Official sources confirmed a picture of the scene, which showed at least nine victims lying outside the ministry while security personnel attended to them.
According to Khalid Zadran, a police chief spokesman in Kabul, security teams have been sent to the location. He listed five fatalities. “The explosion occurred on Wednesday at around 4 p.m. local time (11:30 GMT)” he added.
Officials from the interior and foreign ministries of the Taliban have not yet addressed the fatal explosion.
The blast reportedly happened when a Chinese delegation was meeting the Taliban at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“There was supposed to be a Chinese delegation at the foreign ministry today, but we don’t know if they were present at the time of the blast,” Deputy Minister of Information and Culture Muhajer Farahi told AFP.
A driver with the AFP team waiting outside the Information Ministry next door noticed a man walking by with a backpack and rifle slung over his shoulder before the man blew himself up.
“He passed by my car and after a few seconds there was a loud blast,” Jamshed Karimi said.
“I saw the man blowing himself up,” he added.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and several countries, including Pakistan, condemned the attack.
“Rising insecurity is of grave concern. Violence is not part of any solution to bring lasting peace to Afghanistan. Our condolences to the families affected,” UNAMA tweeted on Wednesday.
United States Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West offered his condolences to the victims.
“My sincere condolences to the families of the victims of the terrorist attack in Kabul today, have seen reports of at least 20 dead and many more injured. This violence serves no purpose,” he tweeted.
Source: Aljazeera News
