At least 21 people were killed and several others wounded in a suicide bombing incident in the Afghan city of Kandahar on Thursday.
According to the international media reports, the incident took place outside a local bank at around 8:00am and at least 50 people wounded in the incident were shifted to the hospital.
Reports suggest that bank employees had queued up outside the bank to collect their salaries.
The Taliban government however put the death toll at three and police said a number of others were wounded.
Hours later, the Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility, and said it was targeting the Taliban.
According to a report issued by Amaq, IS’s news agency, the group claimed the attacker detonated his suicide vest in the crowd of “around 150” Taliban members.
The bombing, said to be the biggest in Afghanistan this year, took place at a branch where Afghan government employees were queueing to collect their salaries.
A doctor from Mirwais hospital said on condition of anonymity, “So far 21 dead and at least 50 people injured from the explosion have been brought in.”
