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At least 14 dead in Kabul suicide attack, says Afghan interior ministry
The bus was carrying Nepalese guards, according to an AFP cameraman, who also reported more than two dozen ambulances at the scene
At least 14 people, mainly foreign security guards, were killed when a suicide bomber hit a minibus early Monday in Kabul along the main road to the eastern city of Jalalabad, Afghanistan’s interior ministry said.
The bus was carrying Nepalese guards, according to an AFP cameraman, who also reported more than two dozen ambulances at the scene.
It is the first attack in Kabul since the start of holy fasting month of Ramadan on June 6. The last attack in the Afghan capital on April 19 left 64 dead and more than 340 wounded.
That attack was claimed by the Taliban, who have been waging an insurgency against the Western-backed Kabul government since they were ousted from power by a US-led invasion in late 2001.
Washington recently announced an expansion of the US military’s authority to conduct air strikes against the Taliban, significantly boosting Afghan forces who have limited close air-support capacities.
US forces have been in an advisory role in Afghanistan since the start of 2015 and were only authorised to hit Taliban targets for defensive reasons, or to protect Afghan troops.
The changes mean US troops can now work more closely with local fighters in striking the Taliban, who have demanded the departure of all foreign forces.
