Kabul : A suicide bomber blew himself up in front of a government ministry in Kabul on Sunday as workers were leaving their offices, killing seven people and wounding more than 15, officials said, in the latest deadly attack to rock the country.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the explosion outside the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, which was the second time in as many months that its compound has been struck.
It follows a series of attacks in the eastern city of Jalalabad in recent weeks that have killed dozens of people.
Most of those assaults were claimed by the Islamic State group. Civilians and security forces were among the seven dead in Monday’s attack, police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai said.
Civilian deaths hit record high in worn-torn country: UN
Kabul: The number of Afghan civilians killed in the country’s long-running conflict hit a record high in the first six months of 2018, UN figures showed with militant attacks and suicide bombs the leading causes of death. The toll of 1,692 fatalities was one per cent more than a year earlier and the highest since the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) began keeping records in 2009. A total of 3,430 civilians were also injured during the period. Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) was the leading cause of civilian casualties. “The combined use of suicide and non-suicide IEDs caused nearly half of all civilian casualties,” the statement said.Ground engagements were the second leading cause of civilian casualties, followed by targeted and deliberate killings, aerial operations and explosive remnants of war, according to the report.
The mission has attributed 67 per cent of the civilian casualties to the Taliban and other insurgent groups, 20 per cent to security forces over the period while the rest were unattributed or caused by other reasons.The UNAMA also renewed its call to the conflicting parties to increase efforts to protect the civilian population and encouraged them to work towards reaching a peaceful settlement.