KABUL, OCT 31 (DNA) –  A suicide bomber believed to be as young as 12 struck Kabul’s heavily fortified diplomatic quarter on Tuesday and killed at least four people, showing that militants can still hit the heart of the city despite tighter security.

It was the first attack targeting the Afghan capital’s “Green Zone” since a massive truck bomb ripped through the area on May 31, killing or wounding hundreds, and prompting authorities to strengthen protection.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack, which follows a spate of suicide assaults by Taliban and IS insurgents on security installations and mosques in recent weeks.

A Western security source told the attacker appeared to have been targeting workers leaving an Afghan defence ministry facility inside the heavily protected zone.

“The suicide attack was carried out by an underage bomber, a boy we think 13 or 15 years old, killing at least four and wounding over a dozen more civilians,” interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish told. He added that the casualty toll could change.

A police spokesperson said the attacker may have been as young as 12.

Defence ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said the attacker “made it through the first checkpoint but was stopped at the second checkpoint and detonated.”

At least 12 Afghan security forces killed in suicide attack

“We don’t know the target but it happened a few metres from the defence ministry’s foreign relations office. There were no casualties to our personnel,” Waziri said.