Officials say 17 killed, 110 wounded in Afghan car bombing

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KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - A suicide car bomber killed at least 17 people and wounded 110 in an attack Saturday in the Afghan capital Kabul, authorities said.

Nasrat Rahimi, deputy spokesperson for the Interior Ministry, said the attacker used an ambulance to get through one security checkpoint by telling police he was taking a patient to a nearby hospital. He detonated his explosives at a second check point, Rahimi said.

The Health Ministry said 17 were killed and 110 wounded but the numbers could rise.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility for the attack, which sent thick, dark smoke into the sky from the site of the explosion near the government's former Interior Ministry building. Also nearby are the European Union and Indian consulates.

Kabul has been the site of numerous bombing attacks claimed by the Taliban and the Islamic State group affiliate over the last year.

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