An suicide bomber who detonated explosives outside the foreign ministry in Afghanistan\u2019s capital Kabul on Wednesday killed 20 people, according to an information ministry official.
\nUstad Fareedun, an official at the Taliban-run information ministry, said the bomber had planned to enter the foreign ministry but failed.
\n\u201cTwenty people were killed and many other injured in the suicide attack,\u201d he said.
\nIn the aftermath, bodies lay strewn on the road outside the high-walled compound of the ministry, marked with the Taliban flag, a video verified by AFP showed.
\nSome injured people writhed on the ground, screaming for help, and a handful of onlookers scrambled to offer assistance.
\nThe blast hit at about 4pm local time, Kabul\u2019s police spokesperson Khalid Zadran said. He did not provide details on the number of casualties, saying officials were investigating.
\nThe Taliban-run administration has faced an insurgency by\u00a0Daesh militants who have targeted foreigners at certain sites, including the Russian and Pakistani embassies and a hotel catering to Chinese businessmen.
\nThe blast took place at a busy time of day in a heavily fortified area surrounded by checkpoints on a street housing several ministries.
\nThe ministry itself did not appear to be badly damaged. Window panes in the interior ministry were also shattered by the impact of the blast.
\nSome countries, including Turkey and China, also have embassies in the area.
\nA person in a nearby office, who asked not to be named, described hearing a loud explosion and said they were evacuated from their building.
\nAn AFP team was conducting an interview inside the information ministry next door when the blast took place.
\nA company driver waiting outside saw a man holding a bag and with a rifle slung over his shoulder walk past before the man blew himself up.
\n\u201cHe passed by my car and after a few seconds there was a loud blast,\u201d Jamshed Karimi said, adding he saw 20 to 25 causalities. \u201cI saw the man blowing himself up.\u201d
\n\u201cThere was supposed to be a Chinese delegation at the Foreign Ministry today, but we don\u2019t know if they were present at the time of the blast,\u201d deputy minister of information and culture Muhajer Farahi told AFP.
\nHowever, Ahmadullah Muttaqi, a senior official at the prime minister\u2019s office, said no foreigners were present at the ministry when it was attacked.
\nHe reiterated that the suicide bomber wanted to enter the ministry but he could not reach the target. \u201cSecurity officials detected him at the gate and the bomber blew himself up. It occurred at the end of office timings.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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