Dozens killed and wounded in Kabul car bombing

More than 40 people were wounded in latest strike to attack Afghan capital

At least 24 people have been killed and 42 wounded in a car bombing in western Kabul. Hedayatullah Amid / EPA

The bomb attack struck a bus carrying government employees. Hedayatullah Amid / EPA

Security officials inspect the scene. Kabul is regularly rocked by suicide bombs and attacks. Hedayatullah Amid / EPA

A recent UN report showed they accounted for nearly one-fifth of all civilian Afghan casualties in the first half of 2017. Omar Sobhani / Reuters

Women rush to leave the scene of the bombing. Hedayatullah Amid / EPA

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), said in its recent report that 1,662 civilians were killed and more than 3,500 injured in the first six months of the year. Hedayatullah Amid / EPA

The bloody toll for the first six months of 2017 has unsettled the government of President Ashraf Ghani, who has come under increasing pressure since the May attack in Kabul. Wakil Kohsar / AFP Photo

At least 24 people have been killed and 42 wounded after a car bomb struck a bus carrying government employees in western Kabul on Monday, the latest attack to strike the Afghan capital.

"The car bomb hit a bus carrying employees of the ministry of mines during rush hour," interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said.

No militant group immediately claimed the blast, but it came as the Taliban have stepped up attacks across the country with several new districts falling to the militants over the weekend.

Mr Danish said the target of the attack, which came just before 7am (6.30am UAE), was not immediately clear.

The neighbourhood in which Monday's bomb detonated is home to many Shiite Hazaras, an ethnic minority who have been targeted in the past.

It is also near the home of prominent politician and former warlord Mohammed Mohaqeq.

Omid Maisom Mohaqeq, a spokesman for the politician, said the bomb had detonated near the first checkpoint approaching the house, "killing and wounding some civilians".

"We assume the car wanted to target Mohaqeq's house but was stopped by guards," he said.

Kabul is regularly rocked by suicide bombs and attacks. A recent UN report showed they accounted for nearly one-fifth of all civilian Afghan casualties in the first half of 2017.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), which has been documenting civilian casualties since 2009, said in its recent report that 1,662 civilians were killed and more than 3,500 injured in the first six months of the year.

Many of those deaths happened in a devastating single attack in Kabul in late May when a truck bomb exploded, also during the morning rush hour, killing more than 150 people and injuring hundreds.

UNAMA put the civilian death toll at 92, saying it was the deadliest incident to hit the country since 2001.

The bloody toll for the first six months of 2017 has unsettled the government of President Ashraf Ghani, who has come under increasing pressure since the May attack in Kabul.