At least 25 killed in Kabul suicide blast

August 15, 2018 07:13 pm | Updated 07:13 pm IST - KABUL

 A man who was injured in a deadly suicide bombing that targeted a training class in a private building in the Shia neighbourhood of Dasht-i Barcha, is placed in an ambulance in western Kabul on August 15, 2018.

A man who was injured in a deadly suicide bombing that targeted a training class in a private building in the Shia neighbourhood of Dasht-i Barcha, is placed in an ambulance in western Kabul on August 15, 2018.

A suspected suicide bomber blew himself up in front of an educational centre in a mainly Shia area in the west of the Afghan capital Kabul on August 15, killing at least 25 people, officials said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, which came after several weeks of relative calm in Kabul but previous attacks on Shia targets in the area have been claimed by Islamic State.

The Taliban, who have been intensifying their attacks against military and government centres in recent weeks, issued a statement denying involvement.

The Public Health Ministry said 35 wounded had been brought to city hospitals, in addition to the 25 killed, adding to the mounting list of civilian casualties this year.

The attack occurred as the government was facing heavy pressure over a Taliban attack on the central city of Ghazni that led to five days of intense fighting during which hundreds of civilians and members of the security forces were killed.

The attack on Ghazni, one of the biggest seen for years in Afghanistan, fuelled criticism that President Ashraf Ghani's Western-backed government was incapable of protecting the country.

With parliamentary elections due on October 20, the government had been bracing for more attacks in Kabul and other cities, even while hopes of peace talks with the Taliban had been fuelled by a three day truce during the Eid al-Fitr holiday in June.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.