The bomb blast that took place a few minutes ago near the German and Indian embassies in Kabul killed at least 50 people and injured another 50, Afghanistan’s ministry of interior spokesperson Najib Danish said.
The blast, considered to be one of the biggest in recent years, happened inside the diplomatic area in the heart of the city.
Among the buildings that were in the vicinity are the Indian embassy, the German embassy and the Iranian embassy, though no large-scale damage has been reported to any of these.
However, glass panes in the German embassy have been reported to have been broken in the impact.
A building that is home to ‘One TV’ was suffered extensive damage and seven people from the channel were injured, according to local sources.
Over 100 injured have been admitted to various hospitals in the area.
The bomb was placed inside a water tanker, which was set off very close to the German and Iranian embassies. The timing of the blast, at 9:20 AM, was intended to cause maximum damage as that is when much of the VIP movement takes place.
The blast area is close to the Afghan Presidential Palace and the Gul Bahar shopping center. Several foreign media houses are also located in the area. The windows of Wall Street Journal’s office were also broken.
Shershah Nawabi, who works for Khurshid Global TV, a local television channel, said casualties from the blast can cross 100, going by the destruction on the spot.
The blast comes within weeks of the Taliban announcing a ‘spring offensive’ in the country, and could lead to a surge of foreign troops in Afghanistan.