One killed as explosion rocks employees’ bus in Afghan capital Kabul

A powerful explosion has struck a bus in the center of the Afghan capital Kabul, killing at least one woman and injuring 19 others.

The Interior Ministry spokesman, Sediq Sediqqi, said that the explosion destroyed the bus, which was carrying employees of one of the country's biggest telecoms firms, in downtown Kabul during evening rush hour on Monday.

The explosion took place as people were leaving work in a well-to-do area of the city. Afghan security forces surrounded the smoking remains of the bus, which appeared to be completely burned out.

A security source said earlier that the blast happened as a bomber on foot set off his explosives. Sediqqi, however, said the explosion appeared to have been caused by a roadside bomb.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the blast.

Kabul has seen a wave of terrorist attacks on government buildings over the past days.

Smoke rises from the site of a blast in Kabul, Afghanistan, March 13, 2017. (Photo by Reuters)

The Monday attack comes less than a week after nearly 40 people were killed and some 70 others sustained injuries in an attack by heavily-armed militants on Afghanistan's largest military hospital in Kabul.

The Daesh Takfiri terrorist group claimed responsibility for the deadly attack, which sparked chaos inside the 400-bed facility.

The rise in attacks in Afghanistan comes as Taliban militants are reportedly preparing for their annual spring offensive in the war-torn country.

More than 15 years after the United States invaded Afghanistan, insecurity still grips the country despite the presence of thousands of foreign troops.

There are currently 8,400 US troops stationed in different bases in Afghanistan. US General Joseph Votel, who is in charge of military operations in the Middle East, has recently asked for even more troops to be deployed to Afghanistan.