KABUL — A suicide car bombing in the eastern part of the Afghan capital Friday morning that killed a girl and wounded 22, Afghan officials said.
Basir Mujahid, spokesman for the Kabul police chief, said the blast occurred in the neighborhood of Qabil Bay, in an area that is home to a police station, the government’s customs offices, and some guest houses.
The bomb apparently failed to harm its intended target, believed to be an armored NATO convoy that was speeding past.
Najib Danish, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said the suicide bomber targeted a ‘‘convoy of foreigners’’ but did not clarify whether it was NATO forces who were targeted or contractors.
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A series of recent attacks have underscored the weaknesses of Afghan security forces more than 16 years after the US-led invasion toppled the Taliban.
On Wednesday, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani called on the Taliban to take part in peace talks to ‘‘save the country,’’ offering security and incentives such as passports to insurgents who join the negotiations.
‘‘We fully endorse President Ghani’s call for the Taliban to join the peace process,’’ said Captain Tom Gresback, a NATO spokesman. The militant group has not responded to the proposal.
No group claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack.
NATO forces in Kabul confirmed that the latest attack was a suicide car bombing. Gresback said no NATO service members were injured in the incident.
Kabul has recently seen a spate of large-scale militant attacks by the Taliban and also the Islamic State, which has an affiliate in Afghanistan that has grown stronger since it emerged in 2014.
In late January, a Taliban attacker drove an ambulance filled with explosives into the heart of the city, killing at least 103 people and wounding as many as 235.
The Taliban claimed the ambulance attack, as well as an attack a week earlier in which militants stormed a luxury hotel in Kabul, killing 22 people, including 14 foreigners, and setting off a 13-hour battle with security forces.
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