World

Suicide bomb kills 24 in Afghanistan

18:45 pm on 24 July 2017

A suicide car bomb has exploded in the Afghan capital, Kabul, killing at least 24 people, officials told the BBC.

No military group has so far claimed responsibility for the blast. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

According to the Afghan interior ministry spokesman, at least 42 were also injured in the blast.

The attacker detonated a bomb in his car in a mainly Shia neighbourhood in the west of the city, the official said.

The target of the attack was not immediately clear, and there has been no claim of responsibility.

The blast struck a bus carrying employees of the mining ministry.

Police cordoned off the site of the explosion, which is located near the house of deputy government Chief Executive Mohammad Mohaqiq.

A spokesman for the politician told news agency AFP that "we assume the car wanted to target Mr Mohaqiq's house but was stopped by guards".

Past attacks have been attributed to either the Taliban or IS.

Kabul has seen a string of recent attacks, including a truck bomb which exploded in May, killing more than 150 people.

According to the United Nations, the country has seen at least 1662 civilian deaths in the first half of the year with around 20 percent of those in the capital.

- BBC