KABUL: A bomb hidden in an ambulance killed at least 95 people and wounded about 158 in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Saturday (Jan 27) when it blew up at a police checkpoint.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for Saturday's suicide blast.
The attacker struck near the old interior ministry building, interior ministry deputy spokesman Nasrat Rahimi told AFP.
"The suicide bomber used an ambulance to pass through the checkpoints. He passed through the first checkpoint saying he was taking a patient to Jamuriate hospital and at the second checkpoint he was recognised and blew his explosive-laden car," interior ministry deputy spokesman Nasrat Rahimi told AFP.
As medical teams struggled to handle the casualties pouring in, some of the wounded were laid out in the open, with intravenous drips set up next to them in hospital gardens.
The casualty toll is the worst since 150 people were killed in a truck bomb explosion last May near the German embassy, not far from Saturday's blast, an attack that prompted a major reinforcement of security in the city.
Taliban militants stormed a luxury hotel in Kabul, killing at least 22 people, the majority foreigners.
A security alert issued to foreigners on Saturday morning warned that the Islamic State group, which has terrorised the city in recent months, was planning "to conduct aggressive attacks" on supermarkets, shops and hotels frequented by foreigners.
Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/new...bulance-blast-in-afghan-capital-kabul-9902224
