Dozens of people were wounded with fatalities feared as a powerful car bomb rocked Kabul early on Monday and gunmen battled special forces in an area housing military and government buildings, officials said.
The rush-hour explosion sent a plume of smoke into the air above the Puli Mahmood Khan neighbourhood of the Afghan capital and shook buildings up to two kilometres (1.2 miles) away, with an AFP reporter saying he could hear gunshots after the blast.
“At first, a car bomb took place and then several attackers took over a building. The area is cordoned off by the police special forces and (they) are bringing down the attackers,” interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said.
Health ministry spokesman Wahidullah Mayar tweeted that 65 wounded people, including nine children, had been taken to hospital. He warned that casualties could rise.
The area was quickly blocked off by Afghan forces and ambulances, with helicopter gunships seen overhead as firing continued.
The heavily-secured neighbourhood is home to some military and government buildings, including one shared by Afghanistan’s intelligence agency and defence ministry, as well as the Afghan Football Federation and Cricket Board.
“We were sitting inside the office when the world turned upside down on us,” said Zaher Usman, an employee at a branch of the culture ministry, which he said stands just 150 metres (yards) from the blast.
He said the blast appeared to have occurred near Gulbahar Tower, which contains a shopping mall and residential units and is next to a government building.
“When I opened my eyes, the office was filled with smoke and dust and everything was broken, my colleagues were screaming,” Usman told AFP by telephone.
Pakistan strongly condemned the reported casualties caused by the “terrorist attack”.
“Pakistan condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. We offer our sympathies and condolences to the bereaved families,” a statement issued by the Foreign Office said, adding that attacks such as today’s are “detrimental to the cause of peace, security and stability in Afghanistan”.
