Suicide bomber kills 1 in diplomatic area in Kabul

A suicide bomber killed at least one person in an attack in the diplomatic area of Afghanistan's capital on Saturday, an Afghan official said.

Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said six people were wounded in the attack in the Shash Darak area of Kabul, near NATO headquarters and not far from the US Embassy.

Danish said the initial casualty count could rise.

No one immediately claimed responsibility but the Taliban and Islamic State militant group both have carried out past attacks in Kabul.

The resurgent Taliban and the newer IS affiliate have been blamed for increased violence in Afghanistan after US and NATO forces concluded combat missions in 2014 that began after the 9/11 attacks in the US

On January 27, a Taliban attacker drove an ambulance filled with explosives into the heart of the city, killing at least 103 people and wounding as many as 235.

The Taliban claimed the ambulance attack, as well as an attack a week earlier in which militants stormed a luxury hotel in Kabul, killing 22 people, including 14 foreigners, and setting off a 13-hour battle with security forces.

Source: AP