KABUL/ISLAMABAD: A suicide bomber who detonated explosives outside the foreign ministry in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Wednesday killed 25 people and injured several others, according to an information ministry official.
Ustad Fareedun, an official at the Taliban-run information ministry, said the bomber had planned to enter the foreign ministry but failed. “Twenty people were killed and many other injured in the suicide attack,” he said.
In the aftermath, bodies lay strewn on the road outside the high-walled compound of the ministry, marked with the Taliban flag, a video verified by a foreign news agency showed.
Some injured people writhed on the ground, screaming for help, and a handful of onlookers scrambled to offer assistance.
The blast hit at about 4:00 PM local time, Kabul’s police spokesperson Khalid Zadran said. He did not provide details on the number of casualties, saying officials were investigating.
The blast took place at a busy time of day in a heavily fortified area surrounded by checkpoints on a street housing several ministries.
The ministry itself did not appear to be badly damaged. Window panes in the interior ministry were also shattered by the impact of the blast.
Some countries, including Turkey and China, also have embassies in the area.
A person in a nearby office, who asked not to be named, described hearing a loud explosion and said they were evacuated from their building.
A company driver waiting outside saw a man holding a bag and with a rifle slung over his shoulder walk past before the man blew himself up.
“He passed by my car and after a few seconds there was a loud blast,” Jamshed Karimi said, adding he saw 20 to 25 causalities. “I saw the man blowing himself up.”
Meanwhile Pakistan has strongly condemned the brazen terrorist attack that took place in Kabul on Wednesday resulting in loss of precious lives and multiple injuries.
According to a statement issued by Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch ,the Government and people of Pakistan extend their deepest sympathies and condolences to the bereaved families.
“We stand in solidarity with our Afghan brothers and sisters in the fight against the scourge of terrorism” she said.