An explosion happened in front of the main gate of the ministry of foreign affairs in downtown Kabul on Wednesday afternoon.
The bombing left at least 13 people, including a number of employees of the ministry of foreign affairs, according to sources.
Taliban said that at least five civilians were killed in the attack.
The Emergency NGO said however that the Surgical Centre of the Emergency Hospital in Kabul received more than 40 patients following the explosion.
“Casualty numbers are continuing to rise as the situation unfolds. This was the first mass casualty incident handled by EMERGENCY’s hospital in the capital in 2023. The Surgical Centre handled 29 mass casualty incidents in 2022,” the hospital said in a statement issued soon after the explosion happened.
“We have received more than 40 patients in the hospital, it is difficult to draw up a final number, we are continuing to respond,” explained Stefano Sozza, EMERGENCY’s Country Director in Afghanistan. “This is the first mass casualty in 2023, but certainly one of those with the most patients since the beginning of 2022. So much so that we have also set up beds in the kitchens and canteen.”
In 2022, EMERGENCY treated more than 12,800 patients in its Kabul hospital, including more than 2,500 admissions and over 4,500 surgeries. Of the latter, 99% were gunshot or explosion wounds and stabbings, the statement added.
Quoting a Taliban official, Reuters reported that at least 20 people were killed in the attack, which was claimed by Daesh hours after it happened.
According to figures collected by Amu, at least 10 employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are among those killed in the blast. The employees had worked at the ministry ahead of the fall of the republic government in August 2021.
