Car bombing kills 12 civilians in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan/ANKARA

An early morning car bombing killed at least 12 people in the Afghan capital Kabul, an official confirmed on Wednesday.

Nusrat Rahimi, the Interior Ministry spokesman, told Anadolu Agency the incident took place in the 15th district at around 08.00 a.m. local time (0330GMT), killing 12 civilians and wounding 20 others, including four foreigners. The site of the attack is close to the heavily guarded ministry compound.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack that came after a relative respite in otherwise such regular bombings devastating the capital city.

Elsewhere in the country, intense clashes between the government forces and Taliban insurgents are being reported amid various initiatives to reinvigorate peace talks in different world capitals.

According to Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, the past six months were the deadliest months for civilians in Afghanistan with casualties of 6,487 civilians, including women and children (1,611 killed and 4876 injured) during the armed conflict in the country.