Factbox-Major Attacks On Afghan Capital In Last year

LONDON (Reuters) – A powerful bomb hidden in a sewage tanker exploded in the morning rush hour in the centre of Kabul on Wednesday, killing at least 80 people, most of them Afghan civilians, wounding hundreds and damaging embassy buildings.

It was the latest in a series of deadly attacks, most of them claimed by either the Taliban or Islamic State, that have terrorized citizens of the Afghan capital.

Following are the most deadly attacks in Kabul over the past year.

May 3, 2017

Islamic State claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed eight civilians in an attack on a convoy of NATO armoured personnel vehicles. The blast hit during the morning rush hour in one of Kabul’s busiest areas. Officials said at least 25 people were wounded, with a number of civilian vehicles destroyed or badly damaged.

March 8

Gunmen dressed as medics attacked the 400-bed Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan hospital and battled security forces for hours, killing more than 50 people and wounding dozens in an assault claimed by Islamic State. A suicide bomber first blew himself up at the rear of hospital, across the road from the heavily fortified U.S. embassy, which provided the signal for three attackers with automatic weapons and hand grenades to open fire inside the complex, according to witnesses.

Feb 7

At least 20 people were killed and 41 wounded in a bomb blast outside the Supreme Court in the centre of Kabul in what appeared to be the latest in a series of attacks on the judiciary.

Jan 10

Thirty-three people were killed and more than 70 wounded in a Taliban attack near an annex to the new Indian-financed parliament building. Most of the victims were parliamentary staff members.

Nov 21, 2016

Islamic State claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on a crowded mosque in Kabul that killed more than 30 people and wounded dozens, its third major attack on minority Shi’ites in the Afghan capital since July.

Oct 12

At least 18 worshippers were killed in a mass shooting at a shrine in Kabul. The attacker, said to be wearing a police uniform, opened fire on a crowd of Shi’ite Muslims marking Ashura, which commemorates the seventh-century death of a grandson of the prophet Mohammad. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.

Sept 5

A twin suicide bombing in a busy area near the Defence Ministry killed 35 people, including several senior security officers, and wounded 103. The attack was claimed by the Taliban and was followed a few hours later by a car bomb in Share Naw, a business and residential area of Kabul close to the government and embassy district, which the insurgent group also claimed.

Aug 24

Thirteen people, including students and a professor, were killed in a Taliban attack on the American University in Kabul that had students jumping from windows in panic.

July 23

Twin explosions tore through a demonstration by members of Afghanistan’s mainly Shi’ite Hazara minority in Kabul, killing at least 80 people and wounding more than 230 in a suicide attack claimed by Islamic State.

June 30

Two Taliban suicide bombers killed at least 27 people and wounded around 40 in an attack on buses carrying newly graduated cadets on the western outskirts of Kabul, officials said.

(Created by Sonya Hepinstall; Editing by Alex Richardson)

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