喀布爾發生汽車炸彈襲擊，至少17人死亡

A suicide car bomb Saturday ripped through a crowded area outside a government building in Kabul, Afghanistan, killing at least 17 people and wounding more than 100 others.

Thick, dark smoke could be seen rising into the sky from the central part of the capital following the explosion near the old Afghan Interior Ministry building, witnesses said.

An Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman, Nasrat Rahimi, confirmed the casualties to VOA, saying the bomber used an explosives-filled ambulance to carry out the attack in an area where civilians had gathered in large number.

Unconfirmed reports, however, said the death toll is much higher than what Afghan officials reported.

The Taliban instantly took responsibility for plotting the attack. A spokesman for the insurgent group said the target was a crowd of personnel of the Afghan security force.

The deadly bombing came a week after five heavily armed Taliban suicide bombers stormed Kabul's Intercontinental Hotel in a highly secured part of the city. The raid killed at least 22 people, including 14 foreigners. At least four Americans were among the dead.一枚自殺式汽車炸彈週六在阿富汗首都喀布爾一棟政府大樓外的一處人羣密集區爆炸，造成至少17人死亡，100多人受傷。

有目擊者稱，在阿富汗內政部舊樓附近發生這場爆炸後，可以看到有濃煙從首都中心地區升起。

阿富汗內政部一位發言人拉希米向美國之音證實了傷亡情況，並表示炸彈襲擊者使用一輛充滿爆炸物的救護車在一處平民大量聚集的地區發動了此次襲擊。

然而有未經證實的報道稱，死亡人數比阿富汗官方報告的要高得多。

“塔利班”組織迅速宣稱對策劃這場襲擊負責。該反叛組織一名發言人稱襲擊目標是一羣阿富汗安全部隊的成員。

在這場致命的炸彈襲擊發生一週前，塔利班組織五名自殺式炸彈手對位於高度戒備區域內的喀布爾洲際酒店發動襲擊，造成包括14名外國人在內的至少22人死亡。死者中包括自少四名美國人。