A suicide bomb attack in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Thursday killed at least 14 people, and wounded many, AFP reported. “As a result of today’s suicide attack, eight police and six civilians have been killed while a further 18 have been wounded,” said Kabul Police spokesperson Abdul Basir Mujahid.
Local reports, however, said that the toll has risen to 18, with eight policemen and 10 civilians dead.
The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the bombing outside a building where many members of the political party, Tajik Jamiat-i-Islami, had gathered for a meeting. The bomber blew himself up outside the building after he was stopped at the security checkpoint, Interior Ministry spokesperson Najib Danish said.
Supporters of Atta Mohammad Noor, the governor of the northern province of Balkh and a critic of Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, were holding an event in the building at the time of the blast. Noor was not at the gathering.
President Ghani issued a statement condemning the attack and said that it was a “criminal act”.
This explosion is the latest in a series of violent attacks that have killed and wounded thousands of civilians in Afghanistan this year.
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