Police among 7 killed in Kabul suicide attack

KABUL (Pajhwok): Seven were killed and five others injured in a suicide attack in Kabul shortly before President Ashraf Ghani’s oath-taking ceremony on Monday morning, an official said.

Ministry of Interior spokesman, Siddique Siddiqui told Pajhwok Afghan News the incident took place near the Metrology Department in the 9th police district around 10:30am.

He said the suicide attacker detonated his explosives close to a checkpoint on the Kabul airport road, leaving four security personnel and three civilians dead and several others wounded.

Siddiqui did not provide more details about the incident. No one has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.

Despite stepped-up security in the capital, two children were wounded in another explosion in the 10th police district of Kabul.

Brig Gen. Humayon Aini, in charge of 119 police hotline, confirmed injuries to the children but said nothing about their condition. A rocket landed near the airport but caused no casualties.

The blasts happened as foreign dignitaries and Afghan figures gathered at the Presidential Palace for the inauguration of Ashraf Ghani and Dr. Abdullah as president and chief executive officer respectively.

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