Deadly Suicide Bomb Attack in Kabul

Security personnel arrive at the site of an attack in the Afghan Interior Ministry in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, May 30, 2018.

At least seven people are dead and nine others wounded in a suicide bomb attack in Kabul near a gathering of Afghanistan's leading religious clerics and scholars.

No one has claimed responsibility for the bombing.

The bombing happened just as 2,000 members of the Afghan Ulema Council had adjourned and were leaving the tent erected for the meeting. Just moments before, the council had issued a fatwa, or ruling, declaring that suicide attacks were forbidden under Islamic law.

The group also issued an appeal calling on the Afghan government and the hardline Taliban to agree to a cease-fire and enter into negotiations on a peace deal.

The Taliban has stepped up attacks across Afghanistan in recent weeks as it begins its spring offensive.