Kabul: At least 80 people have been killed and more than 350 wounded in a suicide car bombing in Kabul’s diplomatic quarter May 31 morning.
The truck exploded a few hundred meters from the Indian embassy and close to the Afghanistan presidential palace and several embassies.
The attack is one of the most serious seen in the Afghan capital for several months, reports agencies.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the attack, tweeted, “India stands with Afghanistan in fighting all types of terrorism. Forces supporting terrorism need to be defeated.”
Thick smoke could be seen rising from the center of the city but it is not clear what the target was.
Houses hundreds of meters away from the blast were damaged with windows and doors blown off their hinges.
Witnesses said dozens of cars were blocking roads and some wounded people could be seen.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the attack came as the resurgent Taliban are stepping up their annual “spring offensive.”
The ISIS group has also claimed responsibility for several recent bombings in Kabul, an attack on NATO convoy that killed at least eight people on May 3.
Witnesses described dozens of cars choking the roads as wounded survivors and panicked schoolgirls sought safety, with men and women struggling to get through security checkpoints to search for loved ones.