Suicide blast in Afghanistan's capital Kabul kills at least 26, several injured

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Kabul: At least 26 people were killed and 18 others wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up in the Afghanistan capital, Kabul, on Wednesday.

The blast occurred around 1.30 pm, Afghanistan's Tolo News suggested.

The incident happened near Kabul University, it said further. 

The Afghan Interior Ministry initially said there were ''multiple casualties'' due to the powerful blast.

The explosion, near a Shi`ite shrine in the west of Kabul, came as the city was celebrating the Nawruz holiday marking the start of the Persian new year.

News agency AFP earlier quoted Afghan government officials as saying that the explosion in Kabul killed at least two people.

Those injured due to the blast were immediately taken to the hospital, a Health Ministry spokesman Waheed Majroh said.

The death toll could rise as emergency personnel were attending to the victims on the scene.

Witnesses said they saw many casualties on the ground soon after the explosion, which is believed to have been a car bomb.