IS suicide bomber kills 26 in Kabul on New Year holiday

KABUL, Mar 21 (AFP): A suicide bomber on Wednesday killed at least 26 people, many of them teenagers, after detonating a device among a crowd of people in Kabul who were celebrating the Persian new year holiday, officials said.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the deadly attack-the fifth suicide bombing in the Afghan capital in recent weeks-via its propaganda arm Amaq, SITE Intelligence Group said.

The Taliban earlier denied involvement on Twitter.

Another 18 people were wounded in the blast, interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said, "all of them civilians".

There were fears the figure could rise, however, with the health ministry giving a higher toll of 29 people killed and 52 wounded. Afghan officials often give conflicting tolls in the wake of attacks.

The bomber, who was on foot, detonated his device in front of Kabul University and a hospital that was opposite, Rahimi said.

The blast occurred less than 200 metres from Karte Sakhi shrine where many Afghans gather every year to mark Nawrooz, which is the traditional Persian new year holiday-but had been unable to reach it due to heavy security for the holiday.

So he "detonated himself among teenagers returning from there", Kabul police chief Mohammad Daud Amin told Tolo News.

Bloodstains could be seen among scattered belongings on the road at the site of the attack. A man who was standing metres from where the explosion happened told Tolo that he saw "at least four bodies in blood" on the ground.

IS has attacked the same shrine once before, in October 2016 when gunmen killed 18 people gathered to mark Ashura, an important date for many Muslims, especially Shiites.

President Ashraf Ghani, whose government has been repeatedly lambasted for its inability to protect its citizens, condemned the attack in a statement as a "crime against humanity".

Taliban and Islamic State militants have increasingly targeted the war-weary city in recent months as US and Afghan forces ramp up air strikes and ground offensives against the groups.