AFGHANISTAN’S interior minister has said at least 103 people were killed in a suicide bombing carried out by the Taliban in Kabul yesterday, updating an earlier toll.

Wais Ahmad Barmak said today that another 235 people were wounded in the attack.

Barmak said police were among those killed and wounded.

The attacker drove an ambulance filled with explosives and was able to race through a security checkpoint by saying he was transferring a patient to a hospital.

Police identified the attacker at a second checkpoint but couldn’t stop him before he detonated the explosives in a central area near the old Interior Ministry building, a hospital and diplomatic buildings.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack which injured 30 police officers and 205 citizens.

Flags were flown at half-staff nationwide after the latest attack. The government has declared tomorrow as a public holiday and Tuesday as a day of prayer for the victims.

The blast comes a week after militants stormed the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul.