Eight Afghan Air Force officers and one civilian were killed while 16 people had been seriously wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up next to a parked government bus boarded by the victims on their way to Kabul on Wednesday.

The Taliban immediately claimed responsibility for the attack that took place at around 7 a.m. on Wednesday, the Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry reported. The victims were boarding the Air Force bus on their way to Kabul when the suicide bomber approached on foot.

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The suicide bomber managed to get near the door of the bus without being stopped and then blew himself up, authorities said.

The attack in the Karte-Sakhi neighborhood left a bloody scene on the street, as limbs lined up the road and body parts and flesh hang on tree branches. Rescue personnel rushed the injured persons to nearby hospitals as policemen cordoned the scene of the attack.

The explosion occurred close to the Ministry of Agriculture, near Kabul University, and was considered one of the first major attacks in the capital in months.

It was not the first time that Taliban suicide bombers target parked government vehicles. In January, a suicide bomber attacked a parked military van in west Kabul, killing two Afghan soldiers.

Last Wednesday’s attack stirred Kabul as Afghanistan grapples with a political impasse over last May’s presidential runoff election. Bombings and attacks have largely been absent since the April vote.

Security officials said Taliban’s absence in the capital during the crucial election period was a way to avoid heavy concentration of security forces and to veer away from bad publicity as the world’s eyes focused on Kabul.

The only major attack staged in Kabul was the assassination attempt on presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah. Abdullah escaped death but several of his security men were killed in the attack.

TagsAfghanistan, suicide boming, kabul bombing, kabul attack