Hours later, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, issuing a bulletin on its Amaq news agency. The statement was disseminated on the messaging app Telegram, where members and followers congregate in secret channels, or chat rooms.

Although the Islamic State has lost nearly all of its former strongholds in Iraq and Syria, the threat that the group poses to the rest of the world has not abated, and in some parts of the world it has increased. The Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, has caused more casualties in Kabul than the Taliban, and in Yemen, the number of the group’s fighters has doubled in the past year, according to the United States military. In recent months, the group also carried out what officials called the deadliest terrorist attack in modern Egyptian history, which took the lives of more than 300 people at a Sufi mosque.

The Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan, which first emerged in the eastern part of the country in 2014, has increasingly carried out deadly attacks in Kabul. Last week, the group claimed an attack on a Shiite cultural center in western Kabul that left at least 40 people dead and dozens wounded.

While the group has faced intense pressure from Afghan commandos and American airstrikes in its foothold in Nangarhar Province, officials have struggled to gain a clear understanding of the urban cells behind the latest spate of attacks claimed by the group. In the past, many of the urban attacks in places like Kabul were carried out by the Haqqani network, a lethal arm of the Taliban.

United States Special Forces units advise Afghan forces in their operations in Nangarhar, and they are often engaged in combat there, too. On Jan. 1, one soldier, Sgt. First Class Mihail Golin, 34, was killed in the Achin district when a patrol was targeted, making him the first military casualty of 2018, the Pentagon announced Wednesday.</s>A suicide bomber in the Afghan capital caused dozens of casualties on Thursday after blowing himself up close to a group of security personnel who were carrying out an operation against illegal drugs and alcohol dealing, officials said.

Wahid Majroh, a spokesman for the ministry of public health, said 11 dead and 25 wounded had been brought to city hospitals after the blast in an area of the city not far from the U.S. Embassy and other foreign missions.

As security forces arrived, a Reuters reporter saw four police vehicles carrying dead or wounded security personnel from the scene.

A security official at the scene confirmed the explosion had been caused by a suicide attack and Kabul police spokesman Basir Mujahid said at least five police had been killed.

Police officers at the scene said the bomber had been wearing a police or army uniform and had approached a group of security personnel near where the controls on illegal drugs and alcohol had been carried out, but there was no official confirmation.

"Kabul police forces were there to prevent a possible protest when a suicide bomber approached them and detonated his suicide vest," Mujahid said.

Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the attack, the militant group's Amaq news agency said, though it gave no evidence to support the claim.

While Afghan forces backed by U.S. air strikes have claimed some success against Taliban insurgents since the United States announced a stepped up military strategy last year, high profile attacks on civilian targets in Kabul have continued.

The attack happened days after a suicide bomber killed at least 41 people and wounded more than 80 at a Shia cultural centre in Kabul, underlining the precarious security situation in the Afghan capital.

That attack was also claimed by ISIS, which has claimed responsibility for a number of similar attacks in Afghanistan over the past two years.
• Afghanistan looks to Canada for more training support</s>CAIRO (Reuters) - Islamic State claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on Thursday in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, the militant group’s Amaq news agency said.

Officials in the capital said the attacker blew himself up close to a group of security personnel who were carrying out an operation against illegal drugs and alcohol dealing.

The report by Amaq gave no evidence to support the claim.</s>Afghan security forces inspect the scene of the suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. (AP)

KABUL: The Islamic State (IS) terrorist group has claimed the responsibility for a suicide bombing in Kabul's PD9 on late Thursday, which left more than 20 people dead and 30 others injured.

According to the Anadolu Agency, the Amaq news agency of the IS said a suicide bomber targeted the police and intelligence officers busy in an operation in the Banayee area of the city. The Kabul police had recently conducted an operation against suspected drug traffickers in the same neighbourhood.

The Afghan Interior Minister, confirming the death toll, said that the victims were mostly police personnel.

The attack took place near a security establishment at Banaee area of the city in the evening.

Earlier this week, the Afghan intelligence operatives managed to foil a series of deadly attacks plotted by the IS in Kabul city and at least 13 insurgents were arrested in connection with the same.</s>Kabul: The Islamic State (IS) terrorist group has claimed the responsibility for a suicide bombing in Kabul’s PD9 on late Thursday, which left more than 20 people dead and 30 others injured.

The attack took place near a security establishment at Banaee area of the city in the evening.

Earlier this week, the Afghan intelligence operatives managed to foil a series of deadly attacks plotted by the IS in Kabul city and at least 13 insurgents were arrested in connection with the same.</s>(KABUL, Afghanistan) — Afghan police say the death toll from the previous night’s suicide attack in Kabul has jumped to 20, with another 27 policemen wounded.

The attack took place on Thursday night in the eastern part of the Afghan capital where dozens of security officers had congregated to protect a demonstration of shopkeepers that had been held earlier in the day.

First reports immediately after the blast put the death toll at six officers but police official Jan Agha said that by Friday morning, the number of those killed had significantly increased.

No one has so far claimed responsibility for the bombing but both Taliban insurgents and the Islamic State group’s affiliate in Afghanistan have targeted the country’s security forces in the past.</s>KABUL: At least 20 people were killed and wounded in a suicide attack in the Afghan capital Kabul on Thursday, interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said.

Officials said the bomber blew himself up after approaching a group of security personnel who had been conducting an operation against illegal drugs and alcohol sales in an area of Kabul not far from the U.S. embassy.</s>A suicide bomber has killed six policemen and five others after exploding a device in eastern Kabul, Afghanistan.

Another 14 police officers were wounded in the bomb which was detonated amid a group of security officials monitoring protests by shopkeepers.

Wahid Mujro, a spokesman for the health ministry, said 15 wounded were treated at Kabul hospitals.

President Ashraf Ghani called the attack "inhumane" and against the tenets of Islam.

Early reports said Isis had claimed responsibility for the attack.</s>KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide bomber working for the Islamic State attacked a market where shopkeepers were protesting against the police in Kabul late on Thursday, killing at least 20 people and wounding more than two dozen others, officials said.

Nasrat Rahimi, a deputy spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said that civilians and members of the security forces were among the casualties, which he put at 20 dead and 30 wounded. Other security officials said that most of the victims were members of the country’s police force.

Najib Danish, another spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said that on Wednesday, city police officers raided a market where alcohol, drugs and other banned substances were being sold and arrested two people. On Thursday, the shopkeepers started clashing with the police and burned a police vehicle. One of the protesters was killed.

The suicide bomber was on foot and detonated explosives in the area around 8:30 p.m. as the security forces had gathered to close more shops, officials said.

Hours later, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, issuing a bulletin on its Amaq news agency. The statement was disseminated on the messaging app Telegram, where members and followers congregate in secret channels, or chat rooms.

Although the Islamic State has lost nearly all of its former strongholds in Iraq and Syria, the threat that the group poses to the rest of the world has not abated, and in some parts of the world it has increased. The Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, has caused more casualties in Kabul than the Taliban, and in Yemen, the number of the group’s fighters has doubled in the past year, according to the United States military. In recent months, the group also carried out what officials called the deadliest terrorist attack in modern Egyptian history, which took the lives of more than 300 people at a Sufi mosque.</s>A suicide attack hit the Afghan capital on Thursday, causing casualties among security personnel who had been carrying out an operation against illegal drugs and alcohol deals, witnesses and police officials said.

As security forces arrived at the scene, a Reuters reporter saw four police vehicles carrying dead or wounded security personnel leaving the scene in an area of the city not far from the US Embassy and other foreign missions.

A security official at the scene confirmed the explosion had been caused by a suicide attack and Kabul police spokesman Basir Mujahid said at least five police had been killed and 10 wounded but he said the number may change.

Police officers at the scene said the bomber had been wearing police or army uniform and had approached a group of security personnel near where the controls on illegal drugs and alcohol had been carried out, but there was no official confirmation.

“Kabul police forces were there to prevent a possible protest when a suicide bomber approached them and detonated his suicide vest,” Mujahid said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which happened days after a suicide bomber killed at least 41 people and wounded more than 80 at a Shi’ite cultural centre in Kabul, underlining the precarious security situation in the Afghan capital.
A suicide bomber attack near a group of security personnel investigating illegal drugs and alcohol dealing in Kabul, Afghanistan, kills at least 20, wounding another 27 policemen. The Islamic State claims responsibility for the attack.