At least 20 killed in Kabul suicide bomb

At least 20 people have been killed in a suicide bombing targeting a mobile police checkpoint in Kabul on Thursday night.

Afghan police say the death toll has jumped to 20 people, with another 27 policemen wounded.

According to Basir Mujahid, a spokesman for the Kabul police, riot police were deployed to the area after protests turned violent, only to be hit by the suicide bomber.

“A suicide attacker has detonated himself … close to a number of police who were trying to provide security for an ongoing protest,” the deputy interior ministry spokesman, Nasrat Rahimi, told AFP.

No one has so far claimed responsibility for the bombing but both Taliban insurgents and the Islamic State group’s affiliate in Afghanistan have targeted the country’s security forces in the past.

The deadly assault comes a week after more than 40 people were killed and dozens more wounded in a suicide blast, claimed by Islamic State, which targeted Shia Muslims in Kabul.

The capital has become one of the deadliest places in war-torn Afghanistan  for civilians in recent months, as the Taliban step up attacks and Isis seeks to expand its presence in the country.

On Wednesday, Afghanistan’s spy agency announced it had busted a 13-member Isis cell in Kabul that had been planning to carry out “a series of big terrorist attacks” in the city.