Huge explosion hits near foreign embassies in Afghan capital; 95 dead
A fatal car bomb attack has hit near foreign diplomatic missions and government buildings in the heart of the Afghan capital, Kabul.
According to witnesses and officials, an ambulance laden with explosives went off on Saturday at a police checkpoint near an office of the High Peace Council and a number of foreign diplomatic missions.
A “bomber used an ambulance to pass through the checkpoints. He passed through the first checkpoint saying he was taking a patient to Jamuriate hospital and at the second checkpoint he was recognized and blew his explosive-laden car,” Interior Ministry deputy spokesman Nasrat Rahimi told AFP.
The Afghan Health Ministry says death toll has risen to 95, with 158 wounded.
The number of casualties are expected to rise as hospital sources say victims are still being brought in.
“It is a massacre,” said Dejan Panic coordinator in Afghanistan for the Italian aid group Emergency, which runs a nearby trauma hospital.
The Taliban militant group claimed responsibility for the fatal attack a week after it claimed an assault on the Intercontinental Hotel in the Afghan capital, in which over 20 people lost their lives.
Many parts of Afghanistan remain plagued by militancy despite the presence of thousands of foreign troops.
The United States -- under Republican George W. Bush’s presidency -- and its allies invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror.
The offensive removed the Taliban from power, but insecurity continues to rise across Afghanistan.
The Daesh terrorist group has also taken advantage of the chaos and expanded its foothold across the country.
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