KABUL: A car bomb targeting an Afghan lawmaker killed nine people and wounded more than a dozen in Kabul on Sunday, officials said, the latest attack to rock the capital.

Kabul has been hit by a wave of deadly violence in recent months despite the Taliban and government engaging in peace talks to end the country’s long conflict.

Sunday’s bombing targeted parliamentarian Khan Mohammad Wardak who was injured in the attack, officials said.

“Nine people were killed and 20 others wounded in the car bomb,” Interior Minister Masoud Andrabi told reporters, adding that all the casualties were civilians.

The ministry said in a separate statement that women and children were among those wounded in the terrorist attack.

A security source said the car bomb was detonated in the west of the capital.

“It was a powerful explosion that has caused a lot of damage to houses in the vicinity,” the source said.

Television footage showed at least two cars on fire, with plumes of thick black smoke billowing into the sky.

An aide to lawmaker Wardak said the attack occurred when he was travelling in his convoy, and five of his bodyguards were among the wounded.

“The enemies of Afghanistan carried out a terrorist attack on Khan Mohammad Wardak,” President Ashraf Ghani said in a statement condemning the bombing.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2020