11 killed, 25 hurt in Kabul suicide attack

KABUL: A suicide attacker blew himself up near a crowd of police and protesters in Kabul Thursday, killing at least 11 people and wounding 25 others, officials said, in the latest deadly violence to bring carnage to the Afghan capital.

"A suicide attacker has detonated himself... close to a number of police who were trying to provide security for an ongoing protest," Deputy Interior Ministry Spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said. Health Ministry Spokesman Wahid Majroh said that 11 bodies had been taken to hospitals around the city along with 25 wounded. Majroh added that the toll could rise.

A security source said on the condition of anonymity said 20 people had been killed and 20 wounded in the attack, but that higher toll could not be immediately confirmed. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack which happened during a protest following the death of a shopkeeper during a police operation targeting alcohol and bootleggers, an unnamed official said. The deadly assault comes a week after more than 40 people were killed and dozens more wounded in a suicide blast claimed by the Islamic State group that targeted Shiites in Kabul. On Wednesday Afghanistan´s spy agency announced it had busted a 13-member IS cell in Kabul that had been planning to carry out "a series of big terrorist attacks" in the city.