At least 80 people were killed and 350 others wounded in a "car bomb" explosion that took place near the Indian embassy in Kabul at around 8:30 am, Spokesman for Ministry of Public Health in Afghanistan Ismail Kawasi said on Wednesday. The death toll is likely to increase.
According to TOLO News, the explosives were placed in a water tanker close to the gate of the German Consulate, which is not too far from the Indian Embassy. Foreign troops are currently at the site of the blast. The suicide car bombing happened in central Zanbaq Square in Wazir Akbar Khan area not too far from the presidential palace. The area is home to several embassies.
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Several employees at the German Consulate were injured while an Afghan security guard was killed, German foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Twitter.
"The attack took place very close to the German embassy. It hit civilians and those who are in Afghanistan to work for a better future for the country with the people there. It's especially contemptible that these people were the target," Gabriel tweeted.
However, no harm or injury has been caused to any of the officials and diplomats at the Indian embassy. However, there has been damage to the windows and doors of the embassy. Windows of shops, restaurants and other building located within a kilometre of the blast site were shattered.
Deputy Spokesman of the Interior Ministry Najib Danish said that the intensity of the blast was so huge that over 30 vehicles were either damaged or destroyed, AP reported.
Kawasi, spokesman for the Public Health Ministry, said that so far over 50 people, who got injured in the blast, have been admitted in several hospitals in Kabul. The Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital confirmed that two people died and over 90 injured were being treated at the hospital.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said that he "strongly condemned the cowardly attack in the holy month of Ramadan targeting innocent civilians in their daily life."
"Massive VBIED (Vehicle-borne improvised explosive device) not too far from our Embassy. Buildings, including ours, suffered considerable breakages, but all our staff are safe," Indian ambassador in Kabul Manpreet Vohra was quoted by ANI as saying.
"By God's grace, Indian Embassy staff are safe in the massive #Kabul blast," Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj said in a tweet.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the blast in Kabul through Twitter saying: "We strongly condemn the terrorist blast in Kabul. Our thoughts are with the families of the deceased & prayers with the injured. India stands with Afghanistan in fighting all types of terrorism. Forces supporting terrorism need to be defeated."
"The explosion was so loud that it shattered all my windows, did not hear something this big before," Fatima Faizi, a resident of Kabul, told Al Jazeera.
No terror outfit has claimed responsibility for the blast yet. The Taliban has clarified that it was no involved in the bomb blast that took place in Kabul on Wednesday. Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid released a statement sayign that the group condemned the blast that caused the loss of so many civilian lives.
Watch the video of the attack here:
