By Aamir Latif

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AA):  A suicide bomber blew himself up in Afghanistan’s capital on Monday, killing at least six civilians and injuring several others. IS [Daesh] later claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement on Amaq,

The bomber was intercepted near “the security checkpoint at the Malik Asghar intersection of the second security zone of Acceptance” before reaching his target, said Khalid Zardan, a police spokesman.

Afghan forces identified the attacker and shot at him in front of a business centre near the foreign ministry, interior ministry spokesman Abdul Nafy Takor tweeted.

“With his killing, the explosives carried by the attacker also exploded which killed six civilians and wounded a number of others,” he added.

Six civilians were killed and a number of people, including three Taliban troops, injured, he said in a tweet.

Local broadcaster Tolo News reported that the bombing occurred on a road leading to the Foreign Ministry building.

International aid group Emergency told the channel that they have received at least 12 wounded people, including a child.

“It was around 3:00pm. We were at the office of the deputy minister. A blast occurred, when we came out, the situation was bad. We saw wounded and martyrs,” said Omar, a witness to Tolo News.

“We heard a sudden sound of a blast that happened near the ministry. We came out but they were not allowing anyone to get close,” Nadim, another eye witness said.

A hospital in Kabul run by Italian medics said it had received two dead and 12 wounded, including a child, from the incident.

Afghanistan has witnessed several suicide bombings since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, with most of the attacks claimed by the Daesh/ISIS terrorist group.

Additional report by The Muslim News