Explosion hits Kabul as political gathering under way

KABUL (Al Jazeera): A suicide attacker has killed at least nine people, detonating his vest near a political gathering in the Afghan capital, Kabul, officials confirmed.

Kabul police spokesman Abdul Basir Mujahid told Al Jazeera that the attacker was stopped at the entrance of the hall, which is usually used for weddings, where he detonated his weapons to “disrupt a political gathering under way inside”.

“The dead included seven policemen and the rest were civilians,” Mujahid told Al Jazeera.

Supporters of Atta Mohammad Noor, governor of the northern province of Balkh, were holding an event inside the hall at the time of the explosion.

Health ministry spokesman Ismail Kawoosi told Al Jazeera that at least five people were wounded and transferred to the city’s emergency hospital.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group claimed responsibility for the attack. The Taliban denied involvement.

The explosion was the latest in a wave of violence that has killed hundreds of civilians in Afghanistan in 2017.