A suicide bomber in the Afghan capital caused dozens of casualties on Thursday after blowing himself up close to a group of security personnel who were carrying out an operation against illegal drugs and alcohol dealing, officials said.

Wahid Majroh, a spokesman for the ministry of public health, said 11 dead and 25 wounded had been brought to city hospitals after the blast in an area of the city not far from the U.S. Embassy and other foreign missions.

As security forces arrived, a Reuters reporter saw four police vehicles carrying dead or wounded security personnel from the scene.

A security official at the scene confirmed the explosion had been caused by a suicide attack and Kabul police spokesman Basir Mujahid said at least five police had been killed.

Police officers at the scene said the bomber had been wearing a police or army uniform and had approached a group of security personnel near where the controls on illegal drugs and alcohol had been carried out, but there was no official confirmation.

"Kabul police forces were there to prevent a possible protest when a suicide bomber approached them and detonated his suicide vest," Mujahid said.

Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack, the militant group's Amaq news agency said, though it gave no evidence to support the claim.

While Afghan forces backed by U.S. air strikes have claimed some success against Taliban insurgents since the United States announced a stepped up military strategy last year, high profile attacks on civilian targets in Kabul have continued.

The attack happened days after a suicide bomber killed at least 41 people and wounded more than 80 at a Shia cultural centre in Kabul, underlining the precarious security situation in the Afghan capital.

That attack was also claimed by ISIS, which has claimed responsibility for a number of similar attacks in Afghanistan over the past two years.
• Afghanistan looks to Canada for more training support </s> Afghan security forces inspect the scene of the suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP)

KABUL: The Islamic State (IS) terrorist group has claimed the responsibility for a suicide bombing in Kabul's PD9 on late Thursday, which left more than 20 people dead and 30 others injured.

According to the Anadolu Agency, the Amaq news agency of the IS said a suicide bomber targeted the police and intelligence officers busy in an operation in the Banayee area of the city. The Kabul police had recently conducted an operation against suspected drug traffickers in the same neighbourhood.

The Afghan Interior Minister, confirming the death toll, said that the victims were mostly police personnel.

The attack took place near a security establishment at Banaee area of the city in the evening.

Earlier this week, the Afghan intelligence operatives managed to foil a series of deadly attacks plotted by the IS in Kabul city and at least 13 insurgents were arrested in connection with the same. </s> A suicide attack hit the Afghan capital on Thursday, causing casualties among security personnel who had been carrying out an operation against illegal drugs and alcohol deals, witnesses and police officials said.

As security forces arrived at the scene, a Reuters reporter saw four police vehicles carrying dead or wounded security personnel leaving the scene in an area of the city not far from the US Embassy and other foreign missions.

A security official at the scene confirmed the explosion had been caused by a suicide attack and Kabul police spokesman Basir Mujahid said at least five police had been killed and 10 wounded but he said the number may change.

Police officers at the scene said the bomber had been wearing police or army uniform and had approached a group of security personnel near where the controls on illegal drugs and alcohol had been carried out, but there was no official confirmation.

“Kabul police forces were there to prevent a possible protest when a suicide bomber approached them and detonated his suicide vest,” Mujahid said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which happened days after a suicide bomber killed at least 41 people and wounded more than 80 at a Shi’ite cultural centre in Kabul, underlining the precarious security situation in the Afghan capital. </s> CAIRO (Reuters) - Islamic State claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on Thursday in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, the militant group’s Amaq news agency said.

Officials in the capital said the attacker blew himself up close to a group of security personnel who were carrying out an operation against illegal drugs and alcohol dealing.

The report by Amaq gave no evidence to support the claim. </s> KABUL: At least 20 people were killed and wounded in a suicide attack in the Afghan capital Kabul on Thursday, interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said.

Officials said the bomber blew himself up after approaching a group of security personnel who had been conducting an operation against illegal drugs and alcohol sales in an area of Kabul not far from the U.S. embassy. </s> A suicide bomber has killed six policemen and five others after exploding a device in eastern Kabul, Afghanistan.

Another 14 police officers were wounded in the bomb which was detonated amid a group of security officials monitoring protests by shopkeepers.

Wahid Mujro, a spokesman for the health ministry, said 15 wounded were treated at Kabul hospitals.

President Ashraf Ghani called the attack "inhumane" and against the tenets of Islam.

Early reports said Isis had claimed responsibility for the attack. </s> KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide bomber working for the Islamic State attacked a market where shopkeepers were protesting against the police in Kabul late on Thursday, killing at least 20 people and wounding more than two dozen others, officials said.

Nasrat Rahimi, a deputy spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said that civilians and members of the security forces were among the casualties, which he put at 20 dead and 30 wounded. Other security officials said that most of the victims were members of the country’s police force.

Najib Danish, another spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said that on Wednesday, city police officers raided a market where alcohol, drugs and other banned substances were being sold and arrested two people. On Thursday, the shopkeepers started clashing with the police and burned a police vehicle. One of the protesters was killed.

The suicide bomber was on foot and detonated explosives in the area around 8:30 p.m. as the security forces had gathered to close more shops, officials said.

Hours later, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, issuing a bulletin on its Amaq news agency. The statement was disseminated on the messaging app Telegram, where members and followers congregate in secret channels, or chat rooms.

Although the Islamic State has lost nearly all of its former strongholds in Iraq and Syria, the threat that the group poses to the rest of the world has not abated, and in some parts of the world it has increased. The Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, has caused more casualties in Kabul than the Taliban, and in Yemen, the number of the group’s fighters has doubled in the past year, according to the United States military. In recent months, the group also carried out what officials called the deadliest terrorist attack in modern Egyptian history, which took the lives of more than 300 people at a Sufi mosque. </s> KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An Afghan official confirmed that at least five people were killed when a suicide bomber on foot carried out an attack in the capital, Kabul.

Najib Danish, deputy spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said three others were wounded in Wednesday’s blast in central Kabul.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for Wednesday’s attack via the IS-run Amaq news agency.

The attack took place near the country’s Defense Ministry compound, as well as a city police station.

Last month around 50 people were killed after militants stormed a military hospital in Kabul; that attack was also claimed by the Islamic State group. </s> KABUL, Afghanistan — Back to back suicide bombs claimed by the extremist Islamic State group exploded Monday morning near an Afghan security compound in a highly secure area of the Afghan capital, killing at least 25 people, including journalists, police said.

The second blast came as news photographers and crews were rushing to the scene, and at least seven journalists were killed, the Afghan Journalists Safety Committee said.

Agence France-Presse identified one of the dead as Shah Marai, its chief photographer in Kabul. The Afghan Journalists Safety Committee said other victims included a cameramen and journalists for local TV stations.

Hours after the attacks, the local branch of the Islamic State group posted a statement online saying two of its “martyrs” carried out an attack on the Afghan intelligence services in Kabul.

The attack took place in the Shash Darak neighborhood, which is the site of a number of embassies and the NATO headquarters.

The first blast left at least five people dead and four others wounded, according to police. The second was more powerful, and appeared to follow a pattern of double bombings intended to draw people to the site and inflict greater harm.

The second suicide bomber was on foot, a police official said, and mingled among the crowd of journalists who had gathered after the first blast.

Police spokesman Hashmat Stanekzai told the Associated Press that 25 were killed and 45 wounded.

The attack came just over a week after a massive suicide bombing occurred outside a voter ID registration center, killing more than 50 people. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for that attack.

Monday’s attack also came days after Taliban insurgents announced the launch of their annual spring offensive, dimming hopes for peace talks recently proposed by the government. The group said it would target Afghan and foreign security forces but would avoid civilian casualties.

The rival extremist Islamic State group, however, has made targeting civilians a key part of its strategy.

Follow the Bangor Daily News on Facebook for the latest Maine news. </s> Dozens of people were killed or wounded when as many as five suicide bombers attacked a police headquarters in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, officials say.

The attack began about 6:30am when one bomber detonated a car packed with explosives at the gate of the police headquarters in Gardez city, capital of Paktia province, said Najib Danish, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry.

Four more attackers stormed the gate after the blast, with at least two quickly killed by police.

The others held out against Afghan special forces that had responded to the attack, he said.

Mr Danish put the toll at two police killed and five wounded.

However, doctors at the city hospital said they had received the bodies of at least five police, as well as at least 30 wounded people, including 20 civilians.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid reporting more than 100 police were killed and wounded.

The Islamist group often exaggerates casualty numbers in attacks against government targets and security forces.

Insurgent groups such as the Taliban and Islamic State have launched a string of attacks across Afghanistan in recent weeks.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on a mosque in Kabul on Thursday.

A massive truck bombing and later suicide attacks left hundreds dead and wounded at the end of May and beginning of June, raising political tensions for the Afghan Government, which is struggling to combat rising violence and corruption.

Thousands of international troops remain in the country to train and assist Afghan security forces as well as carry out counterterrorism missions.

American defence officials say they will decide in the coming weeks whether to send between 3,000 to 5,000 more troops as requested by military commanders.
A suicide bomber attack near a group of security personnel investigating illegal drugs and alcohol dealing in Kabul, Afghanistan, kills at least 20, wounding another 27 policemen. The Islamic State claims responsibility for the attack.