13 dead in suicide attack on Afghan ministry building

Rescue workers take an injured victim to a hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, Monday after a suicide bombing attack at the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development. Thirteen people died in the attack, officials said. Photo by Hedayatullah Amid/EPA-EFE

June 11 (UPI) — More than a dozen people were killed and 30 were injured Monday in an explosion at a ministry building in the Afghan capital, authorities said.

A suicide bomber set off explosives at the gate of the Rural Rehabilitation and Development Ministry in Kabul Monday afternoon, interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said. Thirteen people died.

The agency’s offices are in Kabul’s Darulaman area, a heavily guarded neighborhood that’s home to many high-ranking government officials.

No group immediately took credit for the attack.

Sunday, the Afghan Taliban announced a three-day cease-fire to coincide with the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday, which begins when the moon is first sighted on Thursday or Friday. It’s unclear when the cease-fire will begin.

The surprise peace offer, the first of its kind, came after the Afghan government declared a cease-fire of its own against the radical group. It will last through June 20.

At least six people died Monday in Ghazni province when a roadside bomb struck a minibus. In a separate incident, 10 Taliban fighters and three policemen were killed in other clashes in the province. Last week, a motorcycle suicide bomber killed 14 people near a gathering of Muslim scholars in Kabul after they had issued a religious ruling against suicide bombings.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here