Suicide bomb in Kabul kills girl, injures 22

KABUL — A suicide car bombing in the eastern part of the Afghan capital on Friday morning killed at least one person, a young girl, and wounded 22, Afghan officials said.

Basir Mujahid, spokesperson for the Kabul police chief, said the blast occurred in the neighbourhood of Qabil Bay, in an area that is home to a police station, the government’s customs offices and some guest houses.

Najib Danish, spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, said the suicide bomber targeted a “convoy of foreigners” but did not offer further details.

Nasrat Rahimi, deputy spokesperson for the ministry, said 22 were wounded in the blast. Mohammad Musa Zahir, a doctor at the area’s Wazir Akbar Khan hospital, said the wounded included five children and two women.

No non-Afghan casualties were reported in the bombing.

NATO forces in Kabul confirmed the attack was a suicide car bombing.

Capt. Tom Gresback, spokesperson for the NATO-led forces, said in a statement that “no Resolute Support service members were injured in the incident,” referring to the mission’s name.

No militant group claimed responsibility for the attack.

At the blast site in the Qabil Bay neighbourhood, blood pooled on the pavement amid rubble in front of a destroyed building.

Residents in the area were the first to say the explosion was a suicide attack, before Danish’s statement.

Kabul has recently seen a spate of largescale militant attacks by the Taliban and also the Islamic State group.

The recent attacks have underscored the weaknesses of Afghan security forces more than 16 years after the U.S.-led invasion toppled the Taliban.

On Wednesday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani called on the Taliban to take part in peace talks to “save the country.”