At least 33 people have been killed and 65 wounded in a suspected suicide bombing near a shrine in the Afghan capital Kabul. This came after the Ministry of Interior confirmed a suicide bomber detonated his explosives close to the Ali Abad Hospital and Kabul University at around mid-day. It's the latest of a string of attacks to rock the city since the beginning of the year. CGTN's correspondent Zhu Xuesong has more.

ZHU XUESONG KABUL "We can see that the blast occurred outside a hospital, close to Kabul University in the west of the city. Initial reports suggested the bomber attacked a crowd of hundreds of people who had gathered to celebrate the start of Nowruz, the Persian New Year festival. Eyewitnesses also said that a bomber triggered the explosives just when a crowd of people are paving on their way to the shrine to mark the occasion."

MOHAMMAD SAFAR WITNESS "It was 12 noon, when I was sitting there, and I heard a big, strong explosion. Many people lay down here on the street, some people escaped to this side while others to that side. The police arrived 10 minutes later and took the dead and wounded away."

YASIR WITNESS "I was inside the hospital when the explosion happened. The explosion was so big that the whole area shook. Later, I saw that many killed and wounded were brought into the hospital."

The Islamic State (IS) group claimed the bombing.

The security situation in Afghanistan, where US-led coalition forces and the Afghan army continue to battle the Taliban for control of areas of the country, has been deteriorating in recent months. Both the Taliban and IS seem to be focusing their energies on carrying out attacks in Kabul.

In a statement issued by the Presidential Palace, President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.

He also directed officials to ensure all the wounded were given the necessary medical treatment.

Zhu Xuesong, CGTN, Kabul, Afghanistan.