WEB DESK
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani today confirmed that several people have been killed and wounded after a suicide car bomber blew himself up near the Defence Ministry in the heart of the capital. Interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said a suicide attacker had detonated a vehicle.
Blast happened in a residential neighbourhood close to the ministry of defence and military compounds. The explosion went off in the centre of the city at a busy time.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack near government offices, which sent clouds of acrid smoke billowing in the sky and rattled windows several kilometres away.
According to the media reports, the attack was followed by some gunfire. The Afghan police believe there could be a number of attackers in one of the buildings nearby. Gunfire can still be heard in the area.
A Taliban spokesman told the group was responsible a week after it said it was launching its spring offensive. It had warned of large-scale attacks.
Today’s blast happened in a residential neighbourhood close to the ministry of defence and military compounds. The explosion went off in the centre of the city at a busy time.
In a statement, the Presidential Palace condemned the attack in the strongest possible terms. A spokesman for an emergency hospital in the city said the facility had received eight lightly wounded Afghan soldiers.
The US embassy said they were not affected by the blast. The NATO military coalition also said they were unaffected.
