KABUL: As reported by Reuters, a suicide bombing on Saturday at an education centre in the capital city of Kabul, killing at least 13 people (and counting) and wounding dozens.

Zabiullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s official spokesman, denied responsibility for the attack, stating that “the blast in the Pul-e-Khoshk area of the city did not belong to the Mujahideen of the Islamic Emirate”; as the attack comes at an unfortunate time, as officials from the Taliban and the Kabul-led government meet in Qatar to seek a peace deal in the midst of escalating violence.

The suicide attack took place at a private education complex, which offers courses for students in higher education, is located in the predominantly Shia populated area of Dasht-e-Barchi; as the unfortunate incidence of sectarian violence remains a steady undercurrent in the violence that has ungulfed the country.

Afghanistan has seen a sharp rise in violence in recent weeks, despite the ongoing peace talks in Doha, with NATO officials and the United States’ Special Representative to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad imploring both parties to enforce the ceasefire and an immediate reduction in violence.

The Afghan Ministry of Defense announced on Twitter that it had conducted a targeted airstrike today in the Arghanchkha district of the Badakhshan province, with 17 Taliban insurgents killed in the process - making the already fragile peace negotiations even more precarious.