Two women prison doctors among five killed in Afghan bombing

KABUL: Two women doctors working at an Afghan prison with hundreds of Taliban inmates were among five people killed Tuesday by a bomb stuck to their car, officials said. The blast happened in the south of the capital as they were on their way to Pul-e-Charkhi prison, Kabul police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz said.

Two other prison employees in the car -- as well as a pedestrian -- were also killed, while a third woman doctor was wounded, Afghanistan´s prison authority said. Faramarz had earlier told reporters that four prison doctors had been killed by the bomb.

Hundreds of Taliban fighters and other criminals are incarcerated at Pul-e-Charkhi, on the eastern outskirts of Kabul. President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack. "The terrorist groups including the Taliban who have faced defeat on the battlefields are targeting civilians in the cities, highways and public facilities," he said in a statement.

"This is a sign of their desperation and defeat." No group claimed the attack but the Taliban denied involvement. Kabul has been hit by a wave of deadly violence in recent months despite the Taliban and the government engaging in peace talks.

Targeted killings of prominent figures, including journalists, politicians and rights activists have also become more common recently in Kabul and other provinces. The militant Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for some of the recent attacks in the capital, which have killed dozens of people.