Dozens Killed After Suicide Blast Targets Shia Area In Kabul

An archive picture of Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. 

At least 48 people have died and 67 others were injured after a suicide bomb struck a Shia area in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

The bomber targeted a private building in the Dasht-i Barcha area, where a group of young men and women, all high school graduates, were studying for university entrance exams.

Officials did not say if all the victims were students or whether any of their teachers were also among the casualties.

Jawad Ghawari, a member of the city's Shia clerical council, blamed the so-called Islamic State (IS).

The attack carried the hallmarks of past assaults on Shia mosques, schools and cultural centres. 

Mr Ghawari said that in past two years, there were at least 13 attacks on the Shia community in Kabul alone.

Shia is one of the two main branches of Islam, followed by about a tenth of Muslims, especially in Iran.