Saturday 22 August 2015

Deadly blast rocks Afghanistan capital, Kabul

                

Afghan security officials inspect the scene of Saturday's bomb explosion in Kabul (22 August 2015)

 
An explosion has rocked the diplomatic area of the Afghan capital, Kabul, police have said, with at least three people killed and 18 injured.
Police say it was a suicide attack on a foreign military convoy travelling in the area.
There is no word on any foreign casualties.
No group has said it carried out the attack, although in recent months Kabul has been regularly targeted by the Taliban in a series of bombings.
The explosion took place in Macroyan area, which is also not far from Kabul airport and the presidential palace.
The debris of a market destroyed by a truck bomb in Kabul (13 August 2015)
Kabul has been regularly targeted by the Taliban in recent months
An interior ministry spokesman quoted by the AP news agency said the blast destroyed more than a dozen civilian vehicles.
The bombing, close to a civilian hospital, is the latest in a series of recent deadly attacks following the announcement of a new Taliban leader.
Earlier this month, a Taliban suicide bomber attacked a checkpoint near the entrance to the international airport in Kabul, killing five people.
Before that, there were three deadly attacks in the city - on a police academy, a Nato base and an Afghan army base that killed at least 50 people.
The Taliban has stepped up its campaign of violence in recent months, taking advantage of the warmer weather of spring and summer. It has made some military gains, especially in northern Afghanistan.