Afghan blasts: Twin Kabul explosions 'kill 24 people'

The attack on Monday is the latest is a series of militant bombings of Kabul in recent months

Twin bomb blasts in the Afghan capital Kabul have killed at least 24 people and injured 91 others near the defence ministry, officials say. 

Police and the security services have now secured the area of the blasts

The first bomb was detonated remotely while the second was triggered by a suicide bomber, local media reported. An army general and two senior police officers are among the dead, a ministry of defence spokesperson said.

The emergency services rushed to treat numerous injured people

The Taliban, who have carried out frequent attacks in Kabul, claimed the blasts. Deputy defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish told the Associated Press news agency that the suicide attacker struck as security forces gathered near the ministry to deal with the first blast.

The area of the attack is now being cleared up by fire fighters

He said civilians, police and soldiers were all killed as ministry employees were leaving work at rush hour.
President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack saying it had been carried out by "the enemies of Afghanistan who have lost their ability to fight the security and defence forces".

He said that "the aim of the terrorists is to spread fear". An Italian-run emergency hospital in Kabul tweeted that it was treating 21 injured people, four of whom died on arrival.

The attack comes 11 days after 13 people, including seven students, died in an attack by gunmen on the American University in Kabul.