48 killed, 112 injured in Kabul blast, IS claims responsibility

Kabul: At least 48 people were killed and 112 wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a voter registration centre in Afghanistan's capital city Kabul.

Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danesh said a bomber on foot approached the centre where officials had been issuing identity cards as part of the registration process for voters for the election scheduled for October.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack on a project of key importance to the credibility of President Ashraf Ghani's Western-backed government, which has pledged to hold parliamentary elections this year.

The explosion destroyed cars and shattered windows in nearby buildings, leaving rubble strewn across the street.

India's foreign ministry in a statement strongly condemned the attack in Kabul.

"India strongly condemns cowardly terrorist attack in Kabul and Baghlan today. What makes this attack particularly reprehensible is the fact that the terrorists and their backers chose to attack a voters’ registration centre for upcoming parliamentary and district council elections," the statement by MEA said.