Ambulance causes death in kabul

The explosion — one of the biggest since a truck bomb ripped through the Afghan capital’s diplomatic quarter on May 31 last year — triggered chaotic scenes as terrified people fled the area where several high-profile organisations, including the European Union, have offices.

An ambulance packed with explosives blew up in a crowded area of Kabul on Saturday, killing at least 40 people and wounding 140 others, officials said, in an attack claimed by the Taliban.

An AFP reporter saw “lots of dead and wounded” civilians in the nearby Jamuriate hospital where overwhelmed medical staff struggled to treat bloodied men, women and children lying in corridors.

“The latest toll from Kabul hospitals stands at 40 martyred and 140 wounded,” health ministry spokesman Waheed Majroh told AFP