KABUL JULY 24 (TNS): In the latest attack at least 24 people were killed and 42 wounded after a Taliban car bomb struck a bus carrying government employees in western part of the city on Monday, officials said,.
Interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish told: “The car bomb hit a bus carrying employees of the ministry of mines during rush hour.” The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast that hit a busy neighborhood of the Afghan capital just before 7am (0230 GMT).
Attack comes in the wake of the resurgent militant group stepping up attacks across the country in recent days, with several new districts falling to Taliban over the weekend. The blast hit an area of the capital that is home to many Shia Hazaras, a persecuted ethnic minority who has been targeted many times in the past.
It is also near the home of prominent politician and former warlord Mohammad Mohaqeq.
Omid Maisom Mohaqiq, a spokesman for the politician, said the bomb had detonated near the first checkpoint approaching the house killing and wounding some civilians.
Numerous bodies were seen on the site of the incident and wounded people were crying in the street, surrounded by the debris of the buildings as security forces cordoned off the area. The burnt remains of the bus stood in the mid of the road and a black column of smoke from the explosion dangled in the air.
Forklifts and an army truck were attempting to remove the corpse of the bus as ambulances as well as taxis and private cars ferried the injured to nearby hospitals.
