- Twin blasts rocked a crowded area near the defence ministry in the Afghan capital of Kabul, killing 24 and wounding 91.
- Minutes later, the first blast was followed by a larger blast when a suicide bomber blew himself up.
- Most of the casualties of the second blast were people and officials who had gone to help the victims.
- The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
A car bomb hit Kabul hours after the attack nears Defence Ministry.
A car bomb hit the centre of Kabul late, on Monday, just hours after a Taliban suicide attack near the Defence Ministry killed at least 24 people, including a number of senior security officials, and wounded 91 others, officials said.
Sporadic gunfire could be heard in an area with many shops and businesses and initial reports suggested that a guesthouse had been targeted, with attackers suspected to have entered the building, an Interior Ministry official said.
Glass from shattered windows lay on the street near the explosion site where police sealed off the area.
Among those killed in the attack is the Deputy Head of the Afghan President Protective Services (PPS), Zaman Ahmadzai, reported TOLO news.
The Police Division 2 police chief, his deputy and his head of intelligence are among other high-ranking officials slain in the attack.
The Taliban immediately claimed responsibility for that attack, in which a suicide bomber caught security forces personnel and civilians who rushed to help victims of the first explosion.
The Taliban’s ability to conduct coordinated high profile attacks in the capital Kabul has piled pressure on the Western-backed government, which has struggled to reassure a war-weary population that it can guarantee security.
Fresh Car Bomb Attack in Kabul
A fresh car bomb hit the centre of Kabul late on Monday, hours after twin blasts left 24 dead and 91 dead.
Local journalists tweeted photos of fresh smoke rising from the site of the blast.
Unconfirmed reports indicate that the explosion took place in the vicinity of the Ministry of Interior in the Shar-e-Naw region in Kabul.
As video footage and images of the scene around the blast emerge, heavy security was deployed, and ambulances arrived at the scene.
After a lull following the death of former leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour in a US drone strike in May, the Taliban have stepped up their campaign against the Western-backed government in Kabul, putting security forces under pressure.
The blasts have taken place less than two weeks after 13 people were killed in a suicide attack on the American University in Kabul.
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