A car bomb attack claimed by the Taliban killed at least 14 people and wounded 145 people, "including a majority of women and children," Wednesday morning in western Kabul, authorities said.
A targeted police station, a majority of affected civilians
"A vehicle filled with explosives exploded at the entrance of the police station in western Kabul at 9 am (5:30 am in France)," Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said. "It's not a complex attack" - when gunmen storm after an explosion, "it's a car bomb attack," he said, adding that ten out of fourteen The dead are civilians, as are the wounded.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack on social networks, adding that he had been committed by a suicide bomber.
A particularly bloody month
The Taliban have been negotiating with the United States for a year. An eighth round of negotiations is currently being held in Doha, and both parties have welcomed the "excellent progress" achieved, hoping to sign a bilateral peace agreement. Should such an agreement come to an end, it would pave the way for direct talks between Taliban and a negotiating team formed by the Afghan government. These discussions should be held in Oslo. The Taliban have so far refused to speak with the government of President Ashraf Ghani, whom they call a "puppet" of Washington.
The violence escalated sharply in July, the bloodiest month since May 2017, with more than 1,500 killed and wounded in Afghanistan, according to the UN.