Massive bomb blast rocks secure area of Kabul, killing dozens and wounding hundreds

Bomb blast kills at least 9 in Kabul, wounding dozens

(Image credit: Shah Marai/AFP/Getty Images)

published 31 May 2017

A huge explosion rocked a highly secure part of Kabul, Afghanistan, during rush hour on Wednesday morning, killing at least 80 people and wounding hundreds more, officials said. The death toll is expected to rise. The blast, from what authorities say was a suicide bomb inside a septic tanker, broke shop windows up to a mile away and destroyed or damaged some 30 vehicles at the site, said Najib Danish, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry. "We don't know at this moment what was the target of the attack, but most of the casualties are civilians," he said.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, near the German Embassy off Zanbaq Square, in an area with heavily fortified embassies and government offices, including the Foreign Ministry and Presidential Palace. The German Foreign Ministry said some embassy workers were wounded and an Afghan security officer killed in the blast, which left a 13-foot-deep hole, according to Kabul police chief, Gen. Hassan Shah Frogh. Both the Taliban and the Islamic State have detonated explosives in Kabul, the Afghan capital, in the past. "There are a large number of casualties, but I don't know, how many people are killed or wounded," Gul Rahim, an eyewitness, tells The Associated Press. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.