Death toll in ambulance-car bombing claimed by Taliban shoots up to 95

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Death toll in ambulance-car bombing claimed by Taliban rises to 95 with more than 150 injured

Massoud Hossaini/AP

A wounded man is assisted at the site of a deadly suicide attack in the center of Kabul, Afghanistan, Jan. 27, 2018.

A powerful suicide car bomb rocked Afghanistan's capital Saturday morning, killing at least 95 people and injuring 158, according to Wahidullah Majrooh, a spokesman for the country's health ministry.

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The Taliban claimed responsibility for the insurgent attack in Kabul, which is the deadliest in the country so far this year.

Police in Kabul said the explosion occurred near the entrance to the government's former interior ministry building at the end of Chicken Street, a popular thoroughfare for shopping. The attacker was driving an ambulance, according to the Afghan interior ministry.

PHOTO: Smoke rises into the sky in Kabul, Afghanistan, following an explosion near the former Interior Ministrys building. — Smoke rises into the sky in Kabul, Afghanistan, following an explosion near the former Interior Ministry's building.

PHOTO: The blast site near Sidarat Square in Kabul, Afghanistan is pictured Jan. 27, 2018. — The blast site near Sidarat Square in Kabul, Afghanistan is pictured Jan. 27, 2018.

According to The Associated Press, Interior Ministry deputy spokesman Nasrat Rahim said the assailant used the ambulance to get through one security checkpoint by telling police he was transporting a patient to a nearby hospital. He detonated explosives at a second checkpoint, Rahim said.

Thick, dark smoke was seen billowing into the sky after the blast.

An injured man is moved to a stretcher outside a hospital following a suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday Jan. 27, 2018. The Public Health Ministry says over a dozen were killed, and over 100 wounded in a suicide car bombing in downtown Ka

Emergency Hospital, on the front line of trauma care in Afghanistan and run by an Italian charity, said it received at least 50 injured victims.

Death toll in Kabul hotel siege climbs to 18 civilians; Taliban claims responsibility

PHOTO: A man reacts after hearing his son was killed during a car bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Jan. 27, 2018. — A man reacts after hearing his son was killed during a car bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Jan. 27, 2018.

PHOTO: An wounded elderly woman is assisted at the site of a deadly suicide attack in the center of Kabul, Afghanistan, Jan. 27, 2018. — An wounded elderly woman is assisted at the site of a deadly suicide attack in the center of Kabul, Afghanistan, Jan. 27, 2018.

Afghanistan's chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah, decried the attack as "insane, inhuman, heinous and a war crime" via his official Twitter account. He also urged the international community to "take further action against state sponsored terrorism."

Abdullah tweeted, "Our priority and focus right now is to help those in need and provide the best treatment for those wounded. This is the moment when we all need to stand together and punch our enemy hard. This is enough!"

Terrorist attack on civilians & hospital in #Kabul is insane, inhuman, heinous and a warcrime. We will bring its perpetrators to justice & take necessary measures to avoid such barbarism in the future. Int Community must take further action against state sponsored terrorism.
— Dr. Abdullah (@afgexecutive) January 27, 2018

We condemn this terrorist act and share the sorrows and loses of our people. Our priority and focus right now is to help those in need and provide the best treatment for those wounded. This is the moment when we all need to stand together and punch our enemy hard. This is enough!
— Dr. Abdullah (@afgexecutive) January 27, 2018

U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan John Bass also condemned Saturday's attack, describing it as a "senseless and cowardly bombing."

"My government and I stand with the brave people of Afghanistan," Bass said in a statement. "Their work to create a peaceful, prosperous future for all the citizens of this country is the best response to terrorists and others who know only violence."

PHOTO: Police officers keep watch while a man drives his heavily damaged car at a car bomb attack site in Kabul, Afghanistan, Jan. 27, 2018. — Police officers keep watch while a man drives his heavily damaged car at a car bomb attack site in Kabul, Afghanistan, Jan. 27, 2018.

PHOTO: A shopkeeper looks out behind broken glass of his shop, near the site of a car bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Jan. 27, 2018. — A shopkeeper looks out behind broken glass of his shop, near the site of a car bomb attack in Kabul, Afghanistan, Jan. 27, 2018.

ABC News' David Caplan and Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.

This is a breaking story. Please check back for updates.

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