(Kabul) A suicide bomber blew himself up on Wednesday afternoon at the entrance to the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul, killing around 20 people, an AFP employee found parked near the site of the explosion. .
“I saw around 20 to 25 casualties. I don’t know how many of them were dead or injured. I was waiting in the car when I saw a man with a Kalashnikov over his shoulder and carrying a bag. He passed by my car and after a few seconds there was a loud bang. I saw this man blow himself up,” testified an AFP driver, Jamshed Karimi.
Footage from the scene after the attack shows several bodies lying on the roadway.
Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran confirmed the blast, saying it “unfortunately caused casualties”. “Security teams have reached the area,” he tweeted.
The Taliban say they have improved security in their country since returning to power in August 2021, but numerous bomb attacks have been carried out in recent months, generally claimed by I-K, the local branch of the Islamic State group ( IS).
On December 12, a hotel in Kabul, popular with Chinese businessmen, was attacked by armed men, some of whom were killed. Five Chinese nationals were injured in the attack, claimed by IS.