The bombing appeared to target the VIP protection unit compound, which provides security for high-ranking Afghan officials.
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“Today’s terrorist attack near Puli Mahmood Khan area of Kabul city demonstrates the clear defeat of the enemy in the face-to-face fight against Afghan security forces”, the Afghan presidential palace said in a statement on Twitter.
The Afghan interior ministry stated that 32 people were killed in the attack.
The U.S. Embassy in Kabul also denounced the attack.
“The second attacker engaged security forces in a gunbattle before being gunned down”. Taliban insurgents have stepped up their attacks against the security forces since announcing the start of their s.
The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. Security officials confirm the firefight between armed Taliban gunmen and government security forces has ended.
“Jihad against the aggressive and usurping infidel army is a holy obligation upon our necks and our only recourse for re-establishing an Islamic system and regaining our independence”, the group said.
Government says more than 60 people died in Taliban’s first attack in Afghan capital since it announced new offensive.
The Taliban has remained resilient as the government struggles to confront the violence amid a bitter feud between President Ashraf Ghani and the country’s chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah.
The members of the Security Council reaffirmed the need for all states to combat by all means threats to worldwide peace and security caused by terrorist acts, the statement said.
The Afghan officials, including the global community, widely denounced the attack.
A suicide attacker detonated a vehicle and a fierce gun battle followed in one of the deadliest attacks in Kabul for years.
Several major Afghan security agencies are based in the area, including the National Directorate of Security.
“At least 15 personnel were killed in the incident”, a bodyguard for a senior politician, who had spoken to colleagues at the scene, told DPA.
United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon strongly condemned the Taliban suicide truck bombing in central Kabul. At least 327 wounded were brought to hospitals, said Ismail Kawasi, a spokesman for the Public Health Ministry. But this year, fighting between government and insurgent forces continued in parts of the country during the winter months.
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Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility for the attack, and said that a number of their fighters were now inside the compound battling with security forces.
