Ghani Says More Than 150 Killed In Kabul Truck Bombing On May 31

Afghan security forces and residents stand near the crater left by a deadly truck-bomb attack in Kabul on May 31.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani says that more than 150 people have died as a result of the massive tanker-truck bomb that struck a busy Kabul neighborhood during rush hour on May 31.

"More than 150 innocent Afghan sons and daughters were killed and more than 300 wounded were brought to hospitals with burns and amputations," Ghani told a multinational peace conference in Kabul on June 6.

Officials had previously put the death toll at 90, already making it the deadliest attack in the Afghan capital since the ouster of the Taliban following the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.

The blast occurred when a truck packed with what Ghani called "military-grade" explosives detonated in Kabul's diplomatic quarter.

Ghani paid homage to 13 police officers he said stopped the vehicle at the entrance to the fortified area and died in the blast.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP