At least 29 people killed in Kabul suicide bombing

March 21 (UPI) -- At least 29 people were killed in a suicide bombing in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Wednesday, Ministry of Public Health officials said.

The Islamic State terror group claimed responsibility for the attack that took place around noon and injured about 52 people.

The attacker detonated the bomb near Kabul University and Ali Abad hospital where many people had gathered to make their way to the capital's Sakhi shrine for the Nowruz holiday, a celebration of the Persian new year.

National security analyst Habib Wardak told Al Jazeera the timing of the attack was "no coincidence."

"It's a national holiday for us. A lot of people are gathering across various points in the city, and this is certainly one of them where people celebrate the new year," he said.

The attack comes after a three people were killed by a suicide car bomber in the Afghanistan capital on Saturday. The attack, which the Taliban claimed responsibility for, was intended for a foreign contractor but all the killed and wounded were civilians.

At least 200 people in Kabul have been killed since the beginning of the year in a series of attacks by jihadist groups.