Afghanistan: Kabul Voter Centre Suicide Attack Kills Dozens

A suicide bomb attack at a voter registration centre in the Afghan capital Kabul has killed at least 52 people, officials say.

The dead include 21 women and five children, killed when the blast hit the queue outside. A further 112 people were injured.

The Islamic State group (IS) said it had carried out the attack.

Voter registration began this month for legislative elections which are due to take place in October.

IS’s mouthpiece said a suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt had targeted the centre, which is in the Dashte Barchi area of western Kabul.

Why are voters being targeted?

Images from the scene show blood-stained documents and photographs on the floor.

Abandoned shoes and broken glass litter the area and nearby vehicles are riddled with holes.

There have already been at least four attacks on such centres since voter registration got under way a week ago.

The legislative elections later this year will be followed by a presidential poll in 2019.

BBC research earlier this year found that the Afghan government had full control over just 30% of the country, with the rest of the country under significant threat from the Taliban, and, to a lesser extent, IS.

Afghanistan’s interior minister told the BBC earlier this year that both IS and the Taliban were targeting civilians to provoke people against the government and create chaos.

Sunday’s attack was Kabul’s deadliest since at least 100 people were killed in a district full of government buildings and embassies in January.