KABUL (Reuters) - A Taliban suicide attacker detonated a car bomb in the western part of Kabul on Monday, killing up to 35 people and wounding more than 40, government officials said, in one of the worst attacks in the Afghan capital in recent weeks.

Police cordoned off the area, located near the house of the deputy government Chief Executive Mohammad Mohaqiq in a part of the city where many of the mainly Shi’ite Hazara community live.

Monday’s suicide bombing, which targeted government personnel, continued the unrelenting violence that has killed more than 1,700 civilians in Afghanistan so far this year.

The Taliban, which is battling the Western-backed government and a NATO-led coalition for control of Afghanistan, has launched a wave of attacks around the country in recent days, sparking fighting in more than half a dozen provinces.

“I was in my shop when suddenly I heard a terrible sound and as a result all of my shop windows shattered,” said Ali Ahmed, a resident in the area of Monday’s blast.

Acting Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said at least 24 people had been killed and 40 wounded but the casualty toll could rise further.

Another senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk about the incident with the media, said the toll stood at 35 killed. That was in line with a claim on Twitter by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, who said 37 “intelligence workers” had been killed.

Mujahid said in a tweet claiming responsibility for the attack the target had been two buses that had been under surveillance for two months.

Government security forces said a small bus owned by the Ministry of Mines had been destroyed in the blast but the National Directorate for Security, the main intelligence agency, said none of its personnel had been hit.

Three civilian vehicles and 15 shops were destroyed or damaged in the blast, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

At least 1,662 civilians had already been killed in Afghanistan in the first half of the year.

Kabul has accounted for at least 20 percent of all civilian casualties this year, including at least 150 people killed in a massive truck bomb attack at the end of May, according to United Nations figures.

The Islamic State group claimed an attack on a mosque in the capital two weeks ago that killed at least four people.

Slideshow (12 Images)

On Sunday, dozens of Afghan troops were under siege after Taliban fighters overran a district in northern Faryab province, a spokesman for the provincial police said.

There was also fighting in Baghlan, Badakhshan, and Kunduz provinces in Afghanistan’s north, and Kandahar, Helmand, and Uruzgan in the south, according to officials.

The resurgence of violence also coincides with the U.S. administration weighing up its strategic options for Afghanistan, including the possibility of sending more troops to bolster the NATO-led training and advisory mission already helping Afghan forces.</s>At least 35 people have been killed and more than 40 wounded after a suicide car bomb targeted a bus carrying ministry staff in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, officials said.

Intelligence officials told Al Jazeera that the bus was carrying staff of the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum when it came under attack on Monday.

The attack happened just before 7am local time (02:30 GMT) and took place close to the house of the deputy government Chief Executive Mohammad Mohaqi, said officials.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement sent to Al Jazeera.

The bus was destroyed, along with three other cars and several shops in the area, said Kabul's police chief spokesman, Basir Mujahed, adding children were among the wounded.

READ MORE: UN condemns jump in Afghan civilian deaths

Najib Danish, an acting interior ministry spokesman, added that the casualty toll could rise.

"It was a very loud blast, and my shop is completely destroyed," Baqi Mohammadi told Al Jazeera.

"The Taliban has attacked innocent people. Who has ever benefited from killing innocent people?"

Spokesman Mujahed said the "bomber struck at one of the busiest times of the day".

"There were traffic jams with people going to work and to the university and schools. Many of the shops had just opened," said Mujahed.

Al Jazeera's Jennifer Glasse, reporting from Kabul, said the Hazara community had called a demonstration for Monday to commemorate a suicide bombing that killed 84 in the same area on July 23 last year.

The Hazaras are one of Afghanistan's largest ethnic minorities, accounting for up to 20 percent of Afghanistan's 30 million inhabitants.

The demonstration was postponed because of security risks.

"Security has been very tight in Kabul," she said. "This morning, new barrier gates went up that limit the height of trucks coming into the city."

Hazaras are often the target of sectarian violence in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

One-year anniversary

On Monday, Kabul's Hazara community was due to mark the one-year anniversary of an attack in the capital that killed 84 and wounded more than 300 people, mostly members of the ethnic minority.

That attack was the first in Afghanistan claimed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group, which has since carried out multiple attacks targeting the country's Shia minority.

The latest suicide bombing adds to the unrelenting violence in Afghanistan, where at least 1,662 civilians were killed in the first half of the year.

Kabul is regularly rocked by suicide bombs and attacks. A recent UN report showed that attacks on the capital accounted for nearly one-fifth of all Afghan civilian casualties in the first half of 2017.

READ MORE: Desperate journeys - Persecuted Hazara flee Afghanistan

Many died in a single devastating attack in Kabul in late May when a truck bomb exploded, also during the morning rush hour, killing more than 150 people and injuring hundreds.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan put the civilian death toll at 92, saying it was the deadliest incident to hit the country since 2001.

NATO's combat mission in Afghanistan ended three years ago, handing sole responsibility to the country's security forces, which have also suffered casualties as they try to beat back the Taliban and contain the growing threat from the ISIL group.

Kabul has accounted for at least 20 percent of all civilian casualties this year, including at least 150 people killed in the massive truck bomb attack at the end of May, according to UN figures.</s>KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) – The Taliban have claimed responsibility for a horrific attack in the Afghan capital that killed 24 people and wounded 42.

A statement released to the media by the Taliban says they carried out the suicide car bombing.

The early morning attack targeted a bus carrying employees of the mines and petroleum ministry.

The statement, sent by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, says the target of the bombing was the intelligence services and their employees.

He claimed the bus was filled with employees of the intelligence services but Kabul police chief spokesman Basir Mujahed said the employees worked for the mines and petroleum ministry.

Mujahid said Taliban insurgents had spent the last two months shadowing the intelligence services before carrying out the attack.</s>KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A suicide bomber rammed his car packed with explosives into a bus carrying government employees in the Afghan capital early on Monday, killing 24 people and wounding 42 others, Kabul’s chief police spokesman said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the assault.

The attack took place in a western Kabul neighborhood where several prominent politicians reside and at rush hour, as residents were heading to work and students were on their way to a nearby private high school, said Basir Mujahed, the spokesman.

“The bomber attacked at one of the busiest times of the day,” the spokesman said. “There were traffic jams with people going to work and to the university and schools. Many of the shops had just opened.”

Several residents of Kabul who were lightly wounded in the explosion criticized the lapse in security measures they say enabled the bombing.

Amir Helam, whose friend died in the explosion, told Afghanistan’s Tolo TV that “every day people are dying. If you cannot bring peace then please leave and bring other people.”

The bus was completely destroyed, along with three other cars and several shops in the area, said Mujahed, adding children were among the wounded.

Noorullah, who uses just one name, was in his dormitory at a nearby university when the explosion occurred. He says he “saw so many injured people and cars burning.” Noorullah received minor injuries from flying glass.

Kabul has been battered by explosions claimed by the Taliban and by the Islamic State group’s affiliate in Afghanistan. On May 31, the Afghan capital saw its worst suicide attack since the Taliban’s collapse in 2001 — an attack that killed 150 people and wounded scores.

In a statement the Interior Ministry called Monday’s attack “a criminal act against humanity.”

The police spokesman said the minibus was carrying employees of the mines and petroleum ministry.

The Taliban, in a statement to the media, said they were behind the bombing and that the attack was carried out by an insurgent only identified as Ahmad.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, said the target of the bombing was the intelligence services and their employees. He claimed the bus was filled with employees of the intelligence services and that Taliban insurgents spent the last two months shadowing the intelligence services employees before carrying out the attack. He also claimed 37 people were killed, but the Taliban often exaggerate their battlefield gains and death tolls.

“Once again, these terrorist are attacking civilians and targeting government staff,” Ghani said in a statement.

Pakistan issued a statement condemning the attack and saying that “terrorism is a common enemy.”

Pakistan has been bitterly criticized by both the United States and the Afghan government for providing safe havens to Taliban insurgents, a charge it strongly denies. Both countries routinely accuse the other of harboring their enemy insurgents.

Monday’s attack was the second against employees of the mines and petroleum ministry. Last year, a bus carrying the ministry’s employees was also targeted in an attack that killed several people.

The western Kabul neighborhood where the attack occurred is home to many prominent political leaders, such as Hazara leader Mohammad Mohaqiq.

Several attacks have occurred in the neighborhood, including the suicide attack last month that killed prominent Shiite Muslim cleric Ramazan Hussainzada, who was also a senior leader of the ethnic Hazara community.

Eyewitnesses to Monday’s attack said shattered glass from nearby buildings was scattered all over the street.

“The sound was very strong, the ground shook,” said Mohammed Nader, who owns a convenience store in the neighborhood.

The Taliban have stepped up their attacks against both Afghan forces and civilians since U.S. and other NATO-led foreign combat troops pulled out of the country at the end of 2014, leaving only an advisory and training contingent of international forces. In addition, American troops in Afghanistan have a counterterrorism role.

The insurgents have also steadily expanded their reach across the country, staging offensives targeting entire towns and expanding their footprint.

The Afghan military and security forces, with 195,000 soldiers and more than 150,000 policemen, have struggled to contain insurgency on their own.</s>A suicide car bomb in the Afghan capital, Kabul, has killed and injured dozens of people.

The blast in a mainly Shia district in the west of the city struck a bus carrying government employees from the ministry of mines.

The Taliban said they had carried out the attack.</s>KABUL, Afghanistan — A suicide bomber rammed his car packed with explosives into a bus carrying government employees in the Afghan capital early on Monday, killing 24 people and wounding 42 others, Kabul’s police chief spokesman said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the assault.

The attack took place in a western Kabul neighborhood where several prominent politicians reside and at rush hour, as residents were heading to work and students were on their way to a nearby private high school, said Basir Mujahed, the spokesman.

“The bomber attacked at one of the busiest times of the day,” the spokesman said. “There were traffic jams with people going to work and to the university and schools. Many of the shops had just opened.”

The bus was completely destroyed, along with three other cars and several shops in the area, he said, adding children were among the wounded.

In a statement the Interior Ministry called the attack “a criminal act against humanity.”

The police spokesman said the minibus was carrying employees of the mines and petroleum ministry.

The Taliban, in a statement to the media, said they were behind the bombing and that the attack was carried out by an insurgent only identified as Ahmad.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, said the target of the bombing was the intelligence services and their employees. He claimed the bus was filled with employees of the intelligence services and that Taliban insurgents spent the last two months shadowing the intelligence services employees before carrying out the attack.

“Once again, these terrorist are attacking civilians and targeting government staff,” Ghani said in a statement.

Monday’s attack was the second against employees of the mines and petroleum ministry. Last year, a bus carrying the ministry’s employees was also targeted in an attack that killed several people.

The western Kabul neighborhood where the attack occurred is home to many prominent political leaders, such as Hazara leader Mohammad Mohaqiq.

Several attacks have occurred in the neighborhood, including the suicide attack last month that killed prominent Shiite Muslim cleric Ramazan Hussainzada, who was also a senior leader of the ethnic Hazara community.

Eyewitnesses to Monday’s attack said shattered glass from nearby buildings was scattered all over the street.

“The sound was very strong, the ground shook,” said Mohammed Nader, who owns a convenience store in the neighborhood.

The Taliban have stepped up their attacks against both Afghan forces and civilians since U.S. and other NATO-led foreign combat troops pulled out of the country at the end of 2014, leaving only an advisory and training contingent of international forces. In addition, American troops in Afghanistan have a counterterrorism role.

The insurgents have also steadily expanded their reach across the country, staging offensives targeting entire towns and expanding their footprint.

The Afghan military and security forces, with 195,000 soldiers and more than 150,000 policemen, have struggled to contain insurgency on their own.</s>KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Latest on the suicide car attack in a western neighborhood of Kabul (all times local):

An Afghan government official says the death toll from a suicide car bombing in a western neighborhood of Kabul has climbed to 24.

The official says 42 people were wounded in the attack early on Monday morning. Kabul police chief spokesman Basir Mujahed says the bomber targeted a bus carrying employees of the mines and petroleum ministry.

He said all the dead and wounded are civilians. The suicide bomber rammed his car into a minibus carrying the government employees.

The Interior Ministry in a statement called the attack a “criminal attack against humanity.”

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack but in the past, both the Taliban and the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan has staged assaults in the Afghan capital.

An Afghan government official says the death toll in a suicide car bombing in a western neighborhood of Kabul has climbed to 12. Another 10 people were injured in the early Monday morning attack, said Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish. All the dead and wounded were civilians, he said.

Eyewitnesses said the suicide bomber seemed to target a minibus. It wasn’t known whether the bus carried government employees but Danish said police were on the scene investigating.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

An Afghan health ministry official says two people were killed and another two injured in a suicide car bomb attack in a western neighborhood of Kabul early Monday morning.

Health ministry spokesman Waheed Majrooh told The Associated Press two people died in the explosion along with the suicide bomber. Another two people were hurt, although the extent of their injuries was not immediately known.

Several prominent political leaders, such as Hazara leader Mohammad Mohaqiq, live in western Kabul.

The area has been the scene of several attacks including the suicide attack that killed prominent Shiite Muslim cleric Ramazan Hussainzada last month. Hussainzada was also a senior leader of Afghanistan’s Hazara community.</s>KABUL (Reuters) - A suicide attacker detonated a car bomb in the western part of Kabul on Monday, killing at least 24 people and wounding 40, and the death toll could rise, an Interior Ministry spokesman in the Afghan capital said.

Police cordoned off the area, located near the house of the deputy government Chief Executive Mohammad Mohaqiq in a part of the city where many of the mainly Shi'ite Hazara community live, but they said the target of the attack was so far unclear.

A small bus owned by the Ministry of Mines had been destroyed, government security sources said.

Acting Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said at least 24 people had been killed and 40 wounded but the casualty toll could rise further.

Salim Rasouli, director of the city's hospitals, said at least 13 dead and 17 wounded had been taken to hospitals.

The latest suicide bombing adds to the unrelenting violence in Afghanistan, where at least 1,662 civilians were killed in the first half of the year. It came two weeks after the Islamic State group claimed an attack on a mosque in the capital that killed at least four people.

Kabul has accounted for at least 20 percent of all civilian casualties this year, including at least 150 people killed in a massive truck bomb attack at the end of May, according to United Nations figures.

The Taliban, which is battling the Western-backed government for control of Afghanistan, has launched a wave of attacks around the country in recent days, sparking fighting in more than half a dozen provinces.

On Sunday, dozens of Afghan troops were under siege after Taliban fighters overran a district in northern Faryab province, a spokesman for the provincial police said.

There was also fighting in Baghlan, Badakhshan, Kunduz, Kandahar, Helmand, and Uruzgan provinces, according to officials.

The resurgence of violence coincides with the U.S. administration weighing up its strategic options for Afghanistan, including the possibility of sending more troops to bolster the training and advisory mission already helping Afghan forces.</s>At least 24 people have been killed and 42 wounded after a Taliban car bomb struck a bus carrying government employees in western Kabul Monday, officials said, the latest attack to strike the Afghan capital.

"The car bomb hit a bus carrying employees of the ministry of mines during rush hour," interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish told AFP.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast that hit a busy neighbourhood of the Afghan capital just before 7am (0230 GMT).

The bombing comes as the resurgent militant group has stepped up attacks across the country in recent days, with several new districts falling to the Taliban over the weekend.

The blast hit an area of the capital that is home to many Shiite Hazaras, a persecuted ethnic minority who have been targeted many times in the past.

It is also near the home of prominent politician and former warlord Mohammad Mohaqeq.

Omid Maisom Mohaqiq, a spokesman for the politician, said the bomb had detonated near the first checkpoint approaching the house, "killing and wounding some civilians".

An AFP photographer at the scene saw multiple bodies and wounded people in the street, surrounded by shattered glass as security forces cordoned off the area.

The charred remains of the bus stood in the middle of the road and a black column of smoke from the explosion hung in the air.

An army truck and forklifts were attempting to remove the carcass of the bus as ambulances as well as taxis and private cars ferried the injured to nearby hospitals, an AFP photographer said.

Kabul's Hazara community were due Monday to mark the one-year anniversary of an attack in the heart of the capital that killed 84 and wounded more than 300 people, mostly members of the ethnic minority.

That attack was the first in Afghanistan claimed by the Islamic State group, which has since carried out multiple attacks targeting the country's Shiite minority.

The Hazara community were due to hold a demonstration to mark the July 23, 2016 tragedy, but had agreed to postpone the march after meeting with President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday.

Kabul is regularly rocked by suicide bombs and attacks. A recent UN report showed that attacks on the capital accounted for nearly one-fifth of all civilian Afghan casualties in the first half of 2017.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), which has been documenting civilian casualties since 2009, said in its recent report that 1,662 civilians were killed and more than 3,500 injured in the first six months of the year.

Many died in a single devastating attack in Kabul in late May when a truck bomb exploded, also during the morning rush hour, killing more than 150 people and injuring hundreds.

UNAMA put the civilian death toll at 92, saying it was the deadliest incident to hit the country since 2001.

The bloody toll for the first six months of 2017 has unsettled the government and put increasing pressure on President Ghani.

Protests and deadly street clashes hit the Afghan capital in the wake of the May attack as people incensed by security failures called for his government's resignation.

The UNAMA report also said that nearly half of Afghanistan's 34 provinces have seen an increase in civilian deaths in the first six months of the year, mainly due to the rise in attacks by anti-government forces across the country.

NATO's combat mission in Afghanistan ended three years ago, handing sole responsibility to the country's security forces, which have also suffered spiralling casualties as they try to beat back the resurgent Taliban and contain the growing threat from the Islamic State group.</s>Taliban claim responsibility for attack that killed at least 24 people in a western Kabul neighbourhood.

At least 24 people have been killed and more than 40 wounded after a suicide car bomb targeted Afghanistan's capital Kabul, officials have said.

The target of Monday's attack was a bus carrying staff of the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, intelligence officials said.

Najib Danish, an acting Interior Ministry spokesman added that the casualty toll could rise.

Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement.

The attack came just before 7am local time (02:30 GMT) and took place close to the house of the deputy government Chief Executive Mohammad Mohaqi.

The Hazaras are one of Afghanistan's largest ethnic minorities, accounting for up to 20 percent of Afghanistan's 30 million inhabitants.

Hazara Shia Muslims are often the target of sectarian violence in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The latest suicide bombing adds to the unrelenting violence in Afghanistan, where at least 1,662 civilians were killed in the first half of the year.

It came two weeks after the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group claimed an attack on a mosque in the capital that killed at least four people.

Kabul has accounted for at least 20 percent of all civilian casualties this year, including at least 150 people killed in a massive truck bomb attack at the end of May, according to UN figures.
A suicide car bombing in the western part of Kabul kills at least 24 and injures more than 40 people. Afghan authorities say the target of the attack was a bus of civilian government workers from the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum.