The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bomb that hit a bus ferrying employees of the ministry of mines at peak hour on Monday, according to media reports.

Taking to Twitter, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said 37 "intelligence workers" were killed in the attack.

Reuters says a suicide attacker triggered a car bomb in western Kabul, Afghanistan, in the early hours of Monday, killing at least 35 people and injuring several others.  The bomb reportedly hit a bus ferrying employees of the ministry of mines. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

Several prominent political leaders, including Hazara leader Mohammad Mohaqiq, live in the area which was targeted.  The area has been cordoned off by the local police.

“The car bomb hit a bus carrying employees of the Ministry of Mines during rush hour,” Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish was quoted as saying by AFP.

The attack comes two months after the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a truck bomb attack, which killed 150 people.

The region has witnessed a spate of attacks, including a suicide attack last month which killed prominent Shiite Muslim cleric Ramazan Hussainzada.  He was also a senior leader of  the Hazara community.  In the first half of this year, as many as 1,662 civilians have reportedly been killed in the violence in the country.