Deadly suicide bomber blast at Kabul police office kills ten

A suicide bomber who attacked a queue of people outside a police office in the Afghan capital of Kabul has killed 10 people and injured at least 20. The bombing was the latest in a series of suicide attacks in Kabul in the last month as the Taliban stepped up their campaign against the Western-backed government. The attacks coincided with renewed efforts to revive a peace process with the Islamist insurgent movement that stalled last year.

I saw three bodies on the ground and a number of other people wounded, then ambulances arrived and took all the victims away.

Witness Mohammad Ajmal

The blast comes as parts of Afghanistan continue to suffer prolonged blackouts after insurgents destroyed an electricity pylon in the Dand Shahabuddin district of Baghlan province last week. The pylon, which was cut down with machine saws, brought power from Uzbekistan to meet almost half of Kabul’s 600 megawatt daily requirement. Engineers have been unable to repair the power lines due to the presence of nearby mines and the threat from insurgents. Residents have reported that more pylons have since been brought down.

Kabul