Taliban attack diplomatic area of Kabul

An explosion has hit the diplomatic area of Afghanistan's capital Kabul, with initial police reports suggesting at least three attackers were involved. The country's interior ministry spokesperson said a car bomb went off in the Shirpur area of the capital, home to diplomatic buildings, NGO offices, and government guest houses.

A hospital near the site of the explosion said it had received seven wounded people so far, but officials had yet to comment on the number of casualties.
Members of the Afghan security forces told Al Jazeera the explosions happened close to the Spanish embassy and that gunfire had also been heard.


Police officers closed off the area to civilians after the attack, which was claimed by the Taliban.  The group's spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said suicide bombers targeted a foreign guest house in Shirpur and that fighting was ongoing.

The attack follows a 27-hour Taliban siege this week of Kandahar airport, the largest military installation in southern Afghanistan, in which at least 50 people died, including women and children. Eleven suicide attackers breached the high-security complex which also houses a joint Nato-Afghan base on Tuesday, taking families hostage and triggering pitched firefights with soldiers.