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A car bomb that exploded near the German embassy in Kabul has killed and wounded about 50 people, according to Afghan officials.
The huge explosion went off in the Wazir Akbar Khan area of the capital on Wednesday morning, sending clouds of black smoke spiralling into the sky near the presidential palace and foreign embassies.
German woman and Afghan guard killed by gunmen in Kabul
The explosion occurred at the peak of Kabul’s rush hour when roads are packed with commuters.
Witnesses described dozens of cars choking the roads as wounded survivors and panicked schoolchildren sought safety, with men and woman struggling to get through security checkpoints to search for loved ones.
Several people were killed and wounded in the blast near the fortified entrance to the German embassy, said Basir Mujahid a spokesman for Kabul police.
“It was a car bomb near the German embassy, but there are several other important compounds and offices near there too. It is hard to say what the exact target is,” Mujahid said.
Najib Danish, deputy spokesman for the interior ministry, said at least 50 people were killed or wounded. Danish said the blast was so heavy more than 30 vehicles were either destroyed or damaged.
Ismail Kawasi, spokesman for the public health ministry, said more than 50 wounded people were in Kabul hospitals so far.
“By God’s grace, Indian Embassy staff are safe in the massive Kabul blast,” India’s foreign minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted. The Indian embassy is among those close to the area.
Houses hundreds of metres away from the explosion were damaged with windows and doors blown off their hinges. The blast was loud enough to wake some residents. Reports from journalists inside Kabul said the explosion shook their houses and shattered windows.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the attack came as the resurgent Taliban are stepping up their annual “spring offensive”.
The Islamic State group has also claimed responsibility for several recent bombings in the Afghan capital, including a powerful blast targeting an armoured Nato convoy that killed at least eight people and wounded 28 on 3 May.
Pentagon chief Jim Mattis has warned of “another tough year” for both foreign troops and local forces in Afghanistan, where more than one third of the country is outside of government control.
The blast was the latest in a long line of attacks in the Afghan capital. Kabul province had the highest number of casualties in the first three months of 2017 thanks to multiple attacks in the city, with civilians bearing the brunt of the violence.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/31/huge-explosion-kabul-presidential-palace-afghanistan
The huge explosion went off in the Wazir Akbar Khan area of the capital on Wednesday morning, sending clouds of black smoke spiralling into the sky near the presidential palace and foreign embassies.
German woman and Afghan guard killed by gunmen in Kabul
The explosion occurred at the peak of Kabul’s rush hour when roads are packed with commuters.
Witnesses described dozens of cars choking the roads as wounded survivors and panicked schoolchildren sought safety, with men and woman struggling to get through security checkpoints to search for loved ones.
Several people were killed and wounded in the blast near the fortified entrance to the German embassy, said Basir Mujahid a spokesman for Kabul police.
“It was a car bomb near the German embassy, but there are several other important compounds and offices near there too. It is hard to say what the exact target is,” Mujahid said.
Najib Danish, deputy spokesman for the interior ministry, said at least 50 people were killed or wounded. Danish said the blast was so heavy more than 30 vehicles were either destroyed or damaged.
Ismail Kawasi, spokesman for the public health ministry, said more than 50 wounded people were in Kabul hospitals so far.
“By God’s grace, Indian Embassy staff are safe in the massive Kabul blast,” India’s foreign minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted. The Indian embassy is among those close to the area.
Houses hundreds of metres away from the explosion were damaged with windows and doors blown off their hinges. The blast was loud enough to wake some residents. Reports from journalists inside Kabul said the explosion shook their houses and shattered windows.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the attack came as the resurgent Taliban are stepping up their annual “spring offensive”.
The Islamic State group has also claimed responsibility for several recent bombings in the Afghan capital, including a powerful blast targeting an armoured Nato convoy that killed at least eight people and wounded 28 on 3 May.
Pentagon chief Jim Mattis has warned of “another tough year” for both foreign troops and local forces in Afghanistan, where more than one third of the country is outside of government control.
The blast was the latest in a long line of attacks in the Afghan capital. Kabul province had the highest number of casualties in the first three months of 2017 thanks to multiple attacks in the city, with civilians bearing the brunt of the violence.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/31/huge-explosion-kabul-presidential-palace-afghanistan
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