Explosion in Afghan capital injures 95

Kabul, Aug 7 (IANS) At least 95 people, including women and children were injured on Wednesday in a car bomb explosion near a police checkpoint in the Afghan capital, officials said.

The attack occurred at 9 a.m. in police district 6 when a the vehicle-borne improvised explosive device detonated, apparently targeting the checkpoint belonging to a nearby police station, Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasrat Rahimi said in a statement.

The area also houses a military academy.

According to eyewitnesses, the explosion generated a large plume of smoke that could be seen from different parts of the city, Efe news reported.

The injured were transferred to several hospitals in Kabul, Health Ministry spokesperson Wahidullah Mayar said on Twitter.

Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid claimed the incident in a tweet, saying it was a suicide attack targeting an "enemy recruitment centre" near the police station.

Mujahid claimed that "tens of police and soldiers were killed", although there was no official word yet on any deaths in the incident.

The incident came after five police officers were killed on Tuesday when an explosive placed on a bicycle was detonated as a vehicle of the Counter Narcotics Department was passing by in northwestern Kabul.

These attacks coincided with the eighth round of ongoing peace talks between the US and representatives of the Taliban insurgency in Qatar, where both sides are negotiating an agreement to bring an end to two decades of war.

Despite the talks, violence has continued to grip the country with repeated attacks, including in the Afghan capital, resulting in dozens of deaths.

The UN attributed this uptick in violence to an attempt by insurgents to obtain the upper hand in the negotiations.