20 dead in suicide blast outside Afghan Supreme Court in Kabul

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) - At least 20 people are dead after a suicide blast Tuesday outside Afghanistan's Supreme Court in Kabul, police and other officials told CNN.

A suicide bomber detonated his explosives in a parking lot near the court in the Afghan capital, according to Basir Mojahid, spokesman for Kabul's chief of police.

The attack at around 3:45 p.m. local time targeted Supreme Court employees as they were leaving for the day, Mojahid said.

At least 35 people were wounded in the blast, according to Saleem Rasooli, head of Kabul hospitals.

In a post Wednesday on Twitter, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack.

The blast comes a month after at least 36 people were killed and dozens wounded in two suicide bombings near the Afghan Parliament in Kabul. The Taliban claimed responsibility for those January 10 attacks.

Tuesday's blast underscores the growing concern about the security situation in Afghanistan, where the country's security forces and its international allies have been fighting Taliban militants and other radical groups for years.

A new report Monday from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said more than 11,000 people were killed or injured in 2016. That's the highest number of civilian casualties in a single year since the United Nations began systemically documenting those in 2009. - Read More

 

Afghanistan blast: 20 dead outside Supreme Court in Kabul