Kabul: An explosives-packed ambulance blew up in a crowded area of Kabul on January 28, killing at least 95 people and wounding 158 others, officials said.
This is among the biggest blasts to rock the war-torn capital city of Afghanistan in recent times.
The Taliban-claimed assault that triggered chaotic scenes as terrified survivors fled the area scattered with body parts, blood and debris, and hospitals were overwhelmed by the large number of wounded.
Health ministry spokesman Waheed Majroh told AFP that the toll “now stands at 95 dead, 158 wounded”, shortly after the interior ministry warned that an earlier death toll of 63 could rise.
The blast happened in an area where several high-profile organizations, including the European Union, have offices. Members of the EU delegation in Kabul were in their “safe room” and there were no casualties, an official told AFP.
The force of the explosion shook windows of buildings at least two kilometers away and caused some low-rise structures in the immediate vicinity to collapse.
The suicide bomber passed through at least one checkpoint in the ambulance, saying he was taking a patient to Jamuriate hospital, an interior ministry spokesman said.
“At the second checkpoint he was recognized and blew his explosive-laden car,” Nasrat Rahimi said.
Rahimi told a news conference that most of the victims were civilians. He said the Taliban-affiliated Haqqani Network was responsible and four suspects had been arrested.
The International Committee of the Red Cross in Afghanistan condemned the use of an ambulance in the bombing, saying on Twitter it was “unacceptable and unjustifiable”.
The Taliban used social media to claim responsibility for the attack, which comes exactly a week after its insurgents stormed Kabul’s landmark Intercontinental hotel, killing at least 25 people, the majority foreigners.
Photos shared on social media purportedly of the blast showed a huge plume of smoke rising into the sky.