KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – A suicide bomber rammed his car packed with explosives into a bus carrying government employees in the Afghan capital yesterday, killing 24 people and wounding 42 others, Kabul’s police chief spokesman said.
The attack occurred in a western Kabul neighborhood where several prominent politicians reside and at rush hour, as residents were heading to work and students were on their way to a nearby private high school, said Basir Mujahed, the spokesman.
“The bomber attacked at one of the busiest times of the day,” he said. “There were traffic jams with people going to work and to the university and schools. Many of the shops had just opened.”
The bus was completely destroyed, along with three other cars and several shops in the area, he said, adding children were among the wounded.
In a statement, the Interior Ministry called the attack “a criminal act against humanity.”
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing but in the past, both the Taliban and the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan have staged such large-scale attacks in the Afghan capital.
Monday’s attack was the second against employees of the mines and petroleum ministry. Last year, a bus carrying the ministry’s employees was also targeted in an attack that killed several people.
