Kabul blast: Key moments in security of Afghan capital

Taliban militants detonated a bomb hidden inside an ambulance in a crowded area of Kabul on Saturday, killing at least 63 people and wounding 151 others, officials said.

Both the Taliban and the Islamic State group have stepped up their attacks in Kabul since 2016, turning the city of some five million people into the one of the deadliest places in Afghanistan for civilians.

Here are some of the key moments in the security of the Afghan capital over the last two years.

– First Islamic State attack –
After carrying out multiple attacks across Afghanistan, IS claimed its first assault in Kabul in July 2016 as twin explosions ripped through crowds of Shiite ethnic Hazaras, killing at least 85 people and wounding more than 400.

Since then IS has escalated its presence in the city, claiming nearly 20 attacks across Kabul in the past 18 months, and establishing cells including…