Daesh claims Kabul suicide attack

By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan

Afghan officials have confirmed the death of five people in a suicide attack in the heart of the capital Kabul on Wednesday.

According to the Ministry of Interior Affairs, the attacker was on foot and targeted government employees who were leaving for their homes.

The attacker detonated his explosives on the Pul-e-Mahmood Khan Bridge over the Kabul River close to a number of ministries and the Arg (Presidential Palace).

Najib Danish, a spokesman for the ministry, told Anadolu Agency the blast left five people dead and 10 more injured. He confirmed the incident was a suicide attack and that the killer had been on foot.

Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack in an online post, making this the fifth Kabul attack recently claimed by the terror group.

Civilians have borne the brunt of at least three previous attacks over the past weeks. The most deadly incident was at the Sardar Dawood Khan Hospital last month in which 49 people, including doctors and patients, died.

Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani condemned the latest attack: “The enemies of Afghanistan have once again martyred and injured … to create panic and fear with this terrorist attack in Kabul,” he said in a statement.