The Kabul police say a suicide bombing in the Afghan capital near a gathering of the country’s top clerics has killed at least eight people and wounded others.
Ghafor Aziz, police chief of Kabul’s 5th District, says the blast was caused by a suicide bomber who detonated his explosives near the entrance of a compound where the religious body, known as the Afghan Ulema Council, was meeting on Monday.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Around 2,000 members of the council had gathered for the meeting of the Loya Jirga, or council of elders, at a traditional tent erected for the meeting. Earlier on Monday the council issued an Islamic ruling, or a fatwa, declaring that suicide attacks are “haram” – forbidden under Islamic law.
The explosion struck as the gathering was ending and the participants were about to leave.