Suicide bomb kills at least 9 in Kabul

  • 17/11/2017
People look on at a damaged vehicle after a suicide bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan November 16, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail - RC1D5F4AD870
Photo credit: Reuters

A suicide bomb attack in the Afghan capital near a gathering of supporters of an influential regional leader has killed at least nine people and wounded many, the interior ministry says.

It's not clear if the politician, Atta Mohammad Noor, governor of the northern province of Balkh and a leader of the mainly ethnic Tajik Jamiat-i-Islami party, was at the meeting at the time of the attack.

Islamic State claimed responsibility, according to Amaq, its official news agency.

The explosion was the latest in a wave of violence that has killed and wounded thousands of civilians in Afghanistan this year.

Political tensions are up as politicians have begun jockeying for position ahead of presidential elections expected in 2019.

A spokesman for the interior ministry said the bomber approached the hotel hosting the gathering in the Khair Khana district of Kabul, on foot. The dead included seven policemen and two civilians.

Media showed photographs, apparently from witnesses, which appeared to show about a dozen bodies.

Reuters