Large truck bomb near the foreign embassies in Kabul kills at least 80

A water tank truck loaded with explosives detonated in the diplomatic area in Kabul, which is surrounded by foreign embassies including the US Embassy. The large truck bomb claimed the lives of at least 80 and wounded more than 350 people as embassy workers and staff were headed to work. According to the Washington Post, the majority of the victims were Afghan citizens and security forces.

The dead and wounded were almost all Afghan civilians and security forces: policemen, bank clerks, cart pullers, telephone company workers. Five women were among the dead, officials said.” – Washington Post

President Ashraf Ghani released this statement following the deadly attack saying he, “strongly condemns the cowardly attack in the holy month of Ramadan targeting innocent civilians in their daily life.”

The Taliban spoke with al Jazeera News to proclaim they were not involved in the terror attack. Islamic State later claimed responsibility through their normal method which is Amaq News. This is not the only terrorist attack at the hands of Islamic State during the holy month of Ramadan, they also killed 35 and injured over 100 in Iraq in three separate bombings on Tuesday. One of the bombings included an ice cream shop which was full of families breaking their daily fast for Ramadan.

Update: CNN reported 11 US citizens were injured in the blast and most of them worked as contractors at the US Embassy. Details about their injuries and identities are unknown at this time.

Featured image courtesy of AP