Afghanistan: Suicide bombing near foreign ministry kills six

A suicide bombing close to Afghanistan’s foreign ministry killed six and wounded several others. This marks the latest of several attacks that have taken place in the country more than a year since the Taliban reclaimed control of Afghanistan.

Officials said that a suicide bomber detonated explosives near the foreign ministry in the capital Kabul on Monday. The incident took place around lunchtime when the city was crowded as government office workers leave early for the day during the month of Ramadan.

This marks the second attack that happened near the ministry this year, with the bomber being targeted by Afghan forces, but by that time, the explosives had detonated, according to the ministry spokesman Abdul Nafy Takor. The bombing killed six people and wounded several others.

The spokesperson for Kabul police Khalid Zadran said the attacker was identified at a security checkpoint near the ministry. While the name of the bomber was not disclosed, the explosion was in a busy downtown area near the checkpoint before a fortified street where several government buildings, including the foreign ministry, are located. Zadran also said that at least three members of the Taliban security forces were among the wounded.

The Italian NGO-run hospital said it received some patients in its surgical center in Kabul. The NGO said in a tweet that at least one child was among those who were wounded in the blast. No group has claimed responsibility for the incident so far.

Kabul and several other urban areas have been targeted by attacks in recent months, some of which were claimed by the Taliban’s rivals, the Islamic State militant group also known as ISIL. The Taliban has sought to ensure security since retaking Afghanistan in 2021.

Last week, a 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck areas across Afghanistan and Pakistan, with the tremors felt in Kabul. This was the second earthquake that hit Afghanistan following last year’s incident when a magnitude 6.1 tremor hit its eastern region and killed over 1,000 people, and the 2005 7.5 magnitude earthquake in northern Pakistan killed at least 73,000 people.