Over 40 injured received from blast site, says hospital

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Emergency Hospital in Kabul says it has received over 40 injured people from the scene of Wednesday’s blast near the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

On the other hand, a spokesman for the police headquarters said the explosion caused five fatalities.

Khalid Zadran, the police spokesman, told Pajhwok Afghan News the blast took place at around 4:00pm in front of the ministry, causing some fatalities.

Five civilians were killed and several others wounded in the blast, Zadran added.

“The Islamic Emirate condemns such senseless, barbaric and cowardly attacks on Muslims. The perpetrators will be punished, Insha Allah,” Zadran said.

Zia Ahmad Takal, spokesman for MoFA, told Pajhwok the blast occurred in the afternoon near the Gulbahar Centre.

Meanwhile, a statement from the Emergency Hospital’s Surgical Centre said it had received more than 40 injured after the explosion.

It added the causality figures could possibly rise.

Emergency Hospital chief Stefano Sozza said, it was the first mass-casualty incident handled by the hospital in the capital in 2023. The Surgical Centre handled 29 mass-casualty incidents in 2022.

On the other hand, Al-Jazeera quoted a security source as saying that seven people were killed and 10 more injured in the bombing.

But AFP and the BBC Persian service reported the blast caused about 20 fatalities.

Some relatives of the victims and MoFA workers have released pictures of the dead on social media.

About 10 days ago, an explosion took place near the gate to the Kabul Military Airport. According the Al-Jazeera, 14 people were killed and 18 others injured in that blast.

aw/mud