An ambulance packed with explosives blew up in a crowded area of Kabul today, killing at least 40 people said an official. About 140 others were injured in an attack claimed by the Taliban.
It’s one of the biggest since a truck bomb ripped through the Afghan capital’s diplomatic quarter on May 31 last year.
There were chaotic scenes as terrified people fled the area where several high-profile organisations, including the European Union, have offices.
The force of the blast shook windows of buildings at least two kilometres away and shattered windows within hundreds of metres of the site.
Some low-rise structures in the vicinity of the explosion also collapsed.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on social media — their second deadly assault in Kabul in the space of a week.
Some have termed it as “massacre”.
Outside civilians walked through debris-covered streets carrying wounded people on their backs as others loaded several bodies.The explosion happened in a busy part of the city where the High Peace Council, which is charged with negotiating with the Taliban, has offices.
Members of the European Union’s delegation in Kabul were in their “safe room” and there were no casualties, an official told AFP.
The explosion comes exactly a week after Taliban militants stormed a luxury hotel in Kabul, killing at least 22 people, the majority foreigners.
A security alert issued to foreigners this morning had warned that the Islamic State group, was planning “to conduct aggressive attacks” on supermarkets, shops and hotels frequented by foreigners
