KABUL, Afghanistan – A suicide bomber rammed a car filled with explosives into an armoured NATO convoy in the Afghan capital Wednesday morning, killing eight Afghan civilians and wounding 28 others, including three coalition soldiers, public health officials said. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred at rush hour on a crowded boulevard just a few hundred yards from the U.S. embassy and several Afghan government ministries. A smouldering, partially crumpled minivan at the site was reported to be the suicide vehicle. The Islamic State has claimed numerous attacks in the capital in the past year, most recently a devastating assault March 8 on a large military hospital here, which left more than 49 people dead. Wednesday’s attack also followed a period of repeated attacks by rival Taliban insurgents, who continued their aggressive campaign against the Afghan state all winter and last week announced they were launching a new spring offensive as well.

Source: National Post May 03, 2017 14:03 UTC