At least 21 people killed in twin Taliban attacks near Afghan parliament

The Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility for twin blasts near parliament offices in Kabul on Tuesday, which officials say killed at least 21 people and left 45 wounded, according to AFP.

The attack targeted a minibus carrying staff from the NDS, Afghanistan's main intelligence agency, the insurgents said.

The attack, which ended a period of relative calm in the Afghan capital, occurred in a crowded area during the afternoon rush hour as workers were returning home.

Officials said a suicide bomber blew himself up in the Darul Aman area of the city near the new Indian-financed parliament building and was followed immediately by a car bomber in an apparently coordinated operation.

Earlier on Tuesday, a suicide bomber killed seven people and wounded nine when he detonated his explosives in a house in the southern province of Helmand used by an NDS unit.

(Reporting by Hamid Shalizi; Editing by James Mackenzie and Nick Macfie)