A suicide bomber killed at least 14 people and
wounded eight in an attack on a minibus carrying Nepalese security contractors
in the Afghan capital, Kabul, early on Monday, officials said.
A
Reuters witness saw several apparently dead victims and at least two wounded
being carried out of the yellow bus while police and emergency service vehicles
surrounded the scene in the Banae district of the city.
The
attack was the latest in a recent surge of violence that highlights the
challenges faced by the Afghan government in Kabul and its Western backers as
Washington slowly draws down its remaining troops despite a persistent
insurgency.
Interior
Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said on Twitter that 14 people had been killed
and eight wounded. Police were working to identify the victims, he said.
The casualties appeared to include both Afghans
and Nepalese security contractors, Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi said.
He
said the suicide bomber had waited near the compound housing the security
contractors and struck as the vehicle moved through early morning traffic. As
well as the bus passengers, several people in an adjacent market were also
wounded.
There
was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, which occurred during
Ramadan, Islam's holy month.
It
underlined how serious the security threat facing Afghanistan remains since the
death of former Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a U.S. drone strike
last month.
The
blast follows a deadly suicide attack on a bus carrying justice ministry staff
near Kabul last month and a separate attack on a court in the central city of
Ghazni on June 1.
The
Taliban claimed both those attacks in revenge for the execution of six Taliban
prisoners.
Representative
Image
Source: Reuters
This is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Accordingly, it is difficult to figure out when to end it. But then, this is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Period.
ConversionConversion EmoticonEmoticon