2nd LD Writethru: 8 killed in Afghan capital bomb attack: official

KABUL, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Eight people, including five civilians, were killed and two people wounded after a suicide bomb explosion rocked in central neighborhood of Kabul on Monday morning, officials said.

The Islamic State (IS)-linked "Amaq" news website has claimed in an online statement the responsibility for the attack.

The blast came at around 07:20 local time in Shash Darak locality after the attacker detonated his explosive vest in a crowded road in morning rush hour, Najib Danish, an Interior Ministry spokesman, told local media Tolo News TV.

"Five civilians aboard a sedan passing by he area lost their live as a result of the explosion and the injured were bystanders," he said, adding that the initial information found the bomber, who was also killed on the spot, was a teenager.

Hours after the attack, Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah told the Council of Ministers meeting broadcasting live in Tolo News that the bombing also left one army soldier and a policeman dead in Shash Darak.

The target of the blast remained unknown, but the incident occurred near a sub-office of National Directorate of Security (NDS), the country's primary intelligence agency.

Sirens could be heard after the blast in the fortified area where several foreign embassies, the NATO-led coalition forces' headquarters, and scores of apartment buildings are located.

The IS group, which emerged in eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar in early 2015, has been responsible for massive suicide attacks in Kabul and across the country over the past three years.

On Dec. 18, three Islamic State (IS) fighters were killed and two Afghan Special Force members wounded after the attackers seized a building and fired with guns and rocket propelled grenades onto a nearby NDS training facility in western Kabul. Enditem