Blast near Afghan presidential rally kills at least 24

A Taliban suicide bomber killed at least 24 people near a campaign rally for Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday, with the insurgents warning of more violence ahead of elections.

Wounded Afghan men receive treatment at the Wazir Akbar Khan hospital following a blast in Kabul on September 17, 2019. [Photo: AFP]

About an hour after the attack another blast also claimed by the Taliban rocked central Kabul near the US embassy, although it was not immediately clear if it claimed any lives.

The explosions come after U.S. President Donald Trump last week abruptly ended talks with the Taliban seeking a deal that would have allowed the US to begin withdrawing troops from its longest war.

The bomber near Ghani's rally -- in Parwan province about an hour's drive north of Kabul -- had been on a motorbike and had detonated his device at checkpoint leading to the event, according to interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi.

Women and children were among the causalities, Parwan hospital director Abdul Qasim Sangin told AFP, adding 32 people were injured as well as the 24 dead.

The president was unhurt.