Bloody ‘earthquake’ shakes up Kabul

Witnesses describe scenes of panic, destruction after one of the biggest attacks hits Afghanistan’s capital

Kabul, May 31: A suspected truck bomb ripped through the heart of Kabul’s diplomatic area in a “earthquake-like” blast on Wednesday killing at least 90 people and wounding more than 400.

Witnesses described scenes of panic, confusion and destruction following “one of the biggest” attacks to hit Kabul.

“[I have] not heard something this big before”, Fatima Faizi, a Kabul resident, told Al Jazeera, minutes after the blast on Wednesday.

Kabul residents said the explosion was so powerful it could be felt throughout the Afghan capital.

“I was just 500m from the location of the explosion and it was so heavy that in every part of Kabul, people thought as if it was next to them,” Mushtaq Rahim, an independent analyst and security commentator, told

Al Jazeera. “It was pretty strong. It felt like a tremor, like an earthquake in many parts of the city. As soon as the blast went off, one could see a huge amount of smoke coming from the area.”

At the Wazir Akbar Khan hospital a few blocks away, there were scenes of chaos as ambulances brought in wounded. Frantic relatives scanned casualty lists and questioned hospital staff for news.

“It felt like an earthquake,” said 21-year-old Mohammad Hassan, describing the moment the blast struck the bank where he was working.

His head wound had been bandaged but blood still soaked his white shirt.

Another lightly wounded victim, Nabib Ahmad, 27, said there was widespread destruction and confusion.

“I couldn’t think clearly, there was a mess everywhere,” he said.

Frenzy erupted out outside the hospital as ambulances and police trucks began bringing in the bodies of those killed. Some bodies were burned or destroyed beyond recognition. The explosion went off at rush hour near Zanbaq square, in Kabul’s 10th district, close to shops and restaurants, government offices and foreign embassies.