An Islamic State suicide bomber has struck a Shiite cultural center in Kabul, killing at least 41 people and underscoring the extremist group's growing reach in Afghanistan even as its self-styled caliphate in Iraq and Syria has been dismantled.
The attack may have targeted the pro-Iran Afghan Voice news agency housed in the two-story building. The Sunni extremists of IS view Shiite Muslims as apostates and have repeatedly attacked Afghanistan's Shiite minority and targets linked to neighboring Iran.
The attack wounded more than 80 people, many of whom suffered severe burns.
Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement that: "The United States strongly condemns today's barbaric attack at a cultural and social center in Kabul, Afghanistan, and offers its deepest condolences to the victims and their families."
The White House earlier said that President Donald Trump was briefed on yesterday's attack.
Sanders says "the United States stands firmly with the government and people of Afghanistan and will work closely with the National Unity Government to bring the perpetrators of this heinous attack to justice."
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