13 killed in suicide attack on govt workers in Kabul
kabul — A suicide attacker blew himself up on Monday as government workers queued for an early bus home during the holy month of Ramadan, killing at least 13 people and wounding 31, officials and hospital staff said.
The Daesh group claimed responsibility for the latest attack in the Afghan capital, a day before the government’s separate ceasefire with the Taleban is due to start. The blast happened at the main gate of the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, police and health ministry spokesmen said.
Employees were gathered at the entrance of the compound waiting for a bus to take them home when the bomber blew himself up in the crowd, said rural ministry spokesman Faridoon Azhand, who was inside the building at the time.
“I was in my office when I heard a big blast,” another employee said. “Most of my colleagues were leaving for the day to go home. I am worried about my colleagues. We are told to stay inside for now.”
Police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai confirmed the attacker had targeted the employees as they waited for the bus at around 1.00 pm (0830 GMT). They were leaving early due to the holy month of Ramadan, when most Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset.
The attack, which Daesh claimed via their Amaq propaganda agency, killed 13 people and wounded 31, Azhand said. A doctor at a hospital treating many of the victims confirmed the death toll.
Police and healyth officials said earlier that 12 people were killed and 31 wounded. The attack was just one of several around Afghanistan. Militants raided a government building in the eastern city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, prompting terrified employees to jump out of the windows, officials said. —