{"id":3866,"date":"2016-04-19T11:04:23","date_gmt":"2016-04-19T11:04:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/box5917.temp.domains\/~iriacom\/\/news\/?p=3866"},"modified":"2016-04-19T15:06:04","modified_gmt":"2016-04-19T15:06:04","slug":"at-least-30-dead-hundreds-injured-in-massive-kabul-bombing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ir-ia.com\/news\/at-least-30-dead-hundreds-injured-in-massive-kabul-bombing\/","title":{"rendered":"At least 30 dead, hundreds injured in massive Kabul bombing"},"content":{"rendered":"

At least 30 killed and hundreds wounded in first major Kabul attack since the Taliban announced “spring offensive”.<\/strong><\/p>\n

At least 30 people were killed and over 300 others wounded as a massive explosion rocked Kabul, Afghanistan on Tuesday morning, authorities said.<\/p>\n

A suicide car bomber caused the explosion, said Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi. The attack — near the Defense Ministry in the capital’s central first district — targeted an office that houses a National Directorate of Security unit responsible for protecting government officials.<\/p>\n

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack which targeted the headquarters of a security agency\u00a0in central Kabul, near the ministry of defence and embassies.<\/p>\n

Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi said most of the 28 people confirmed dead were civilians.<\/p>\n

Several witness said they continued to hear gunfire after the explosion. Ambulances carried the injured to several hospitals around Kabul, said the Afghan Health Ministry.<\/p>\n

A police commander, Obaidullah Tarakhail, said the blast was “one of the most powerful explosions I have ever heard in my life.”<\/p>\n

He added that he couldn’t see or hear anything for 20 minutes after the initial explosion. “All around was dark and covered with thick smoke and dust,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"Dozens<\/a>

Dozens killed, hundreds injured in Kabul suicide attack on 19 April 2016<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

“President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani condemned the terrorist attack in Pule Mahmood Khan area, Kabul, which martyred and injured a number of Afghan innocent civilians in strongest terms,” a statement released by the president’s office said.<\/p>\n

Ghani tweeted the following from his office’s official account: “Today’s terrorist attack near Pul-e-Mahmud Khan, #Kabul clearly shows the enemy’s defeat in face-to-face battle with (Afghan National Defence and Security Forces).”<\/p>\n

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Today’s terrorist attack near Pul-e-Mahmud Khan, #Kabul<\/a> clearly shows the enemy’s defeat in face-to-face battle with ANSDF.<\/p>\n

\u2014 \u0627\u0631\u06af (@ARG_AFG) April 19, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n