Suicide bomber strikes outside police office in Afghan capital
A Taliban suicide bomber blew himself after joining a queue to enter a police office in Kabul on February 1, killing 20 people and wounding at least 29 in the worst such attack this year.
The Afghan capital was hit by a series of suicide attacks last month as the Taliban stepped up their campaign against the Western-backed government. They coincided with renewed efforts to revive a peace process with the Islamist insurgent movement that stalled last year.
The Interior Ministry said in a statement that 20 people had been killed and 29 others wounded in the bombing.
In a separate statement, the NATO mission condemned the attack, which it said killed 20 police officers and wounded 25 others as well as seven Afghan civilians.
"Once again, terrorists have targeted a populated area with no regard for innocent lives," said Brig. Gen. Wilson Shoffner, Resolute Support deputy chief of staff for communications.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement that said 40 police officers had been killed or wounded. The group often makes exaggerated casualty claims for its attacks.
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"I saw three bodies on the ground and a number of other people wounded, then ambulances arrived and took all the victims away," witness Mohammad Ajmal said.
Last August, a Taliban suicide bomber killed dozens of students at a police academy in Kabul, using a similar tactic by joining a queue waiting to enter the compound.
The Afghan National Civil Order Police (ANCOP) was set up as a gendarmerie-style unit to control riots and urban disorder but have also been used in counterinsurgency roles against the Taliban.
