In a suicide bombing in Afghanistan capital Kabul, latest in a series of attacks, at least 19 people were killed in an explosion an near the entrance to the Supreme Court.
The attacker was on foot, and targeted a side door as court employees and other people were exiting the building in downtown Kabul, the Interior Ministry said. Public Health Minister Ferozuddin Feroz said 41 people were wounded, including 10 in critical condition.
Najib Danish, deputy spokesman for the Interior Ministry, initially confirmed the death of 12 people adding that 10 were also wounded.
He added that the explosion took place near a side door, which is used by the court's employees to leave the building, and not the main entrance.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which bore the hallmarks of the Taliban. The Taliban insurgents have attacked the top court and its employees in the past, as well as court buildings in the other provinces.
The insurgents have been at war with the U.S.-backed government for 15 years and have increasingly targeted the judiciary since the execution of six convicted insurgents last May.
Shortly after the executions, a suicide bomber targeted a minibus carrying court employees in Kabul during the morning rush hour, killing 11 people in an attack claimed by the Taliban, which called it an act of revenge.
In June, three Taliban fighters stormed a court building in the eastern Logar province, killing seven people, including a newly appointed chief prosecutor, before being shot dead by police.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the Supreme Court attack, which he blamed on the "enemies of our people." The U.S. Embassy in Kabul called it "an attack on the very foundation of Afghan democracy and rule of law."
Elsewhere in Afghanistan, a roadside bomb killed a top district official in the western Farah province as he returned home from a mosque, local police spokesman Iqbal Baher said. The Taliban claimed the attack.
