Afghanistan: Suicide bomber detonates at Supreme Court, 20 dead, 45 injured

At least 20 people were killed and 45 were seriously or lightly injured in a suicide bomber attack on the Supreme Court in Kabul, BBC reports, Patria conveys. The number of victims may increase by the end of the investigation.

The attacker targeted the institution's building parking lot, reports state. The injured are being transported to hospitals.

There is no information yet about who is behind the heinous attack, which is one of a series of deadly attacks carried out by the Taliban and other militants in recent months.

It is estimated that the attacker targeted court employees on their way home.

"He detonated the vest while walking," said Najib Danish, spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior. The attack followed hours after a senior district official in the western Farah province was killed in a bombing for which the Taliban claimed responsibility.

Afghan judicial institutions, including the Supreme Court in Kabul, have been targeted in attacks by Taliban militants before.

Just last month, in a double armed attack near the parliament in Kabul, for which the Taliban claimed responsibility, more than 30 people lost their lives, and dozens were injured.  

The latest attacks only confirm the fact that the security situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating. The UN reported that the number of civilian casualties in the country reached its highest point, with 3,498 people in 2016 alone, a 3% increase compared to 2015, but a tenfold increase in the number of victims of attacks carried out by ISIL militants.

The Afghan government controls no more than two-thirds of the country.

Most NATO soldiers left Afghanistan at the end of 2014, but about 13,000 foreign soldiers remain, more than half of whom are Americans, who are in training programs or advisory roles.