At least nine killed, over 80 wounded in Kabul car bomb attack

At least nine people were killed when a suicide car bomb exploded in Kabul’s diplomatic district on Wednesday morning.

The explosion took place near Zanbaq square, in the Afghanistan capital, near where many countries’ diplomatic missions are based.

Over 80 people were also wounded in the attack, with officials saying the casualty could rise.

A police and a hospital source told Al Jazeera that at least nine people were killed in the attack. Waheed Majroh, a spokesman for the Afghan health ministry, told Al Jazeera that dozens of people were taken to hospital after the blast.

“The explosion was so loud that it shattered all my windows, did not hear something this big before,” Al Jazeera quotes Fatima Faizi, a Kabul resident, as saying.

A spokesperson for Kabul police, Basir Mujahid told Reuters that “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.”

The explosion occurred during the rush hour at about 8:30 a.m. local time.

Although no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, last month the Taliban announced the commencement of a major offensive saying it would target mainly foreigners and foreign forces. The Islamic State is also very active in Afghanistan and has carried out several attacks there.