KABUL: A suicide bomber attacked on Sunday a convoy carrying Afghan lawmakers including a prominent woman MP, killing three civilians and injuring 22 others, officials said.

The blast, in which the assailant detonated an explosives-packed car, left the MPs’ vehicles badly damaged on a main road in Kabul, close to the parliament.

“(Shukria) Barakzai — she is fine and suffers small injuries,” interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said of the politician via Twitter.

“Three people (were) martyred and 22 people injured,” he said.

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Ms Barakzai is a renowned campaigner for women’s rights in Afghanistan, a stance that attracts fierce opposition from many Islamist groups and Muslim conservatives.

She has spoken about receiving regular death threats, but there was no immediate claim of responsibility for Sunday’s attack.

Television footage showed a clearly shaken Barakzai walking away from her wrecked car while other passengers were covered in blood.

Shinkay Karokhil, another female MP, said: “The target was a convoy of MPs driving towards the parliament. Shukria Barakzai was affected by the attack but she is fine.”

Ms Barakzai is a close supporter of President Ashraf Ghani, who has stressed the need for better women’s rights since he came to power in September.

The president issued a statement condemning the attack as a “heinous act against all Islamic and Afghani values”.

“I survived because of my people’s prayers,” Ms Barakzai said by telephone from her hospital bed.

The bombing was the latest to target members of the US-backed Afghan government, which is fighting a fierce onslaught by the Taliban as most foreign combat troops prepare to leave Afghanistan by the end of the year.

Female officials have often been targeted by militants in Afghanistan.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2014