Death toll reaches 26, 42 injured in suicide attack at the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani campaign rally

Kabul: In a suicide attack on Tuesday morning at the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani campaign rally in the central province of Afghanistan, the death toll has reached 26 and 42 are reported to be injured.

"26 people have been killed and 42 wounded on Tuesday by a suicide bomber at President Ghani's campaign rally in the central province of Parwan,'' confirmed a spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior, as quoted by the Tolo News. Earlier, the local police reported that only eight people were killed in the attack and 10 were wounded.

According to the local officials, the attack took place at 11:40 a.m. (Local time) in the city of Charikar in Parwan district after a suicide bomber on a motorbike detonated his explosives where dozens of people were entering the meeting place. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, claiming they were targeting security forces at the campaign rally.

"The bodies of the deceased have been transferred to hospitals," said Qasim Sangin, the head of Parwan's provincial hospital. "A number of the wounded people are not in a stable condition and the identities of many remained unknown," said Sangin. "We are busy with treatment," he added.

Meanwhile, later on Tuesday, another blast was reported near the US Embassy in Kabul which was close to one of the Ministry of Defense's buildings in PD9 Kabul. No casualties have been reported in the latter.