15 civilians injured in minibus bombing in Afghan capital: Kabul police

At least 15 civilians were injured in a bomb blast that targeted a minibus in Kabul city on Monday afternoon, Kabul police said in a statement. 

The minibus was attacked in the Dahan-e-Bagh area of Kabul and a taxi nearby was damaged, said Ferdaws Faramarz, spokesman for the Kabul police chief.

Baryalai Khan, a government official and witness said "I was on the way home from the office when the explosion happened; I turned my face and saw (that) a Costar (model of the car) was the target, the victims were crying and they were in critical conditions."

According to the sources the bus was carrying the employees of the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. 

No group including the Taliban immediately claimed responsibility for the blast. 

Afghanistan is experiencing a nationwide spike in bombings, targeted killings and other violence as peace negotiations in Qatar between the Taliban and the Afghan government continue.

The Islamic State group’s local affiliate has claimed responsibility for some of the violence, but many go unclaimed, with the government putting the blame on the Taliban. The insurgents have denied responsibility for most of the attacks.

(With inputs from agencies)