A suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, has left at least 41 people dead and 80 injured.

It targeted a Shia cultural organisation, but the Afghan Voice news agency was also hit.

The Islamic State terrorist group has said it was behind the attack.



41 have been confirmed dead, with 80 more wounded, after a suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan.

The attack, which hit the Afghan capital on Thursday, targeted a Shia cultural organisation, but the Afghan Voice news agency was also hit, according to the BBC, which reported that the Islamic State terrorist group said it was behind the attack.

Students who had gathered at the Tibian Social and Cultural Centre for a discussion forum to mark the 38th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan were reportedly among those killed and wounded when the blast went off inside.

The blast also hit the offices of the Afghan Voice news agency, which are at the same location.

The Independent reported that an unknown number of attackers set off an explosion outside the centre before storming it and then set off explosive devices in the basement of the building where the forum was taking place.

The first explosion was followed by at least two more blasts, according to the Interior Ministry, which told the BBC that the following blasts did not cause any fatalities.

A student named Mohammad Hasan Rezayee told Tolo News: "We were inside the hall in the second row when an explosion from behind took place. After the blast there was fire and smoke inside the building and everyone was pleading for help."

Sayed Abbas Hussaini, a journalist with Afghan Voice, told Reuters that one reporter at the agency had been killed while two had been wounded.

The Islamic State said on its propaganda outlet Amaq that it had targeted the Shia centre with a suicide bomber and other bombs, according to the BBC, while the Taliban issued a statement saying they were not involved.

Local hospitals are treating dozens of wounded people after the attack, which President Ashraf Ghani's spokesman in a statement called an "unpardonable" crime against humanity.

The Islamic State, also known as ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh, has been behind numerous attacks on Shia targets across Afghanistan in recent months, according to the BBC.

Biraj Patnaik, the South Asia director of Amnesty International, said: "This gruesome attack underscores the dangers faced by Afghan civilians.

"In one of the deadliest years on record, journalists and other civilians continue to be ruthlessly targeted by armed groups."