Suicide car bombing in Kabul’s diplomatic area leaves 80 dead
● 350 wounded and embassies damaged in rush-hour blast
A massive explosion has rocked a highly secure diplomatic area of Kabul, killing 80 people and wounding as many as 350.
The attack left a scene of mayhem and destruction and sent a huge plume of smoke over the Afghan capital.
The target of the blast - which officials said was a suicide car bombing - is unclear, but Ismail Kawasi, spokesman for the public health ministry, said most of the casualties were civilians, including women and children.
It was one of the worst attacks Kabul has seen since the drawdown of foreign forces at the end of 2014.
Images from the scene showed the German embassy and several others heavily damaged. Germany and Pakistan said some of their embas“these sy employees and staff were hurt in the explosion.
The explosion took place at the peak of Kabul’s rush hour when roads are packed with commuters. It went off close to a busy intersection in the Wazir Akbar Khan district, said Najib Danish, deputy spokesman for the interior ministry.
The neighbourhood is considered Kabul’s safest area, with foreign embassies protected by dozens of 10ft blast walls and government offices, guarded by police and national security forces.
The foreign ministry and the presidential palace are in the area, as are the British, Canadian, Chinese, Turkish and Iranian embassies.
TV footage showed shocked residents soaked in blood stumbling about, then being ferried away to hospitals. Passers-by stopped and helped the wounded into private cars, and others congregated outside the nearby Italian-run Emergency Hospital.
A statement from the ministry of interior affairs said it “condemns in the strongest terms the terrorist attack”.
heinous acts go against the values of humanity as well as values of peaceful Afghans. These attacks also demonstrate the extreme level of atrocity by terrorists against innocent civilians.”
President Ashraf Ghani strongly condemned the attack, which came days into the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. A statement from his office quoted Mr Ghani as saying “the terrorists, even in the holy month of Ramadan, the month of goodness, blessing and prayer, are not stopualties ping the killing of our innocent people”.
Pakistan condemned the “terrorist attack in Kabul this morning that has caused loss of precious human lives and injuries to many”. Pakistan’s ministry of foreign affairs said: “The blast has caused damage to the residences of some Pakistani diplomats and staff, living in the close vicinity, and inflicted minor injuries to some.”
The Foreign ministry in Berlin said it had no immediate information on possible cas- or damage to the German embassy but was trying to get more details.
Germany has had troops in Afghanistan for 15 years, primarily concentrated in the north in and around Mazar-esharif. They are one of the biggest contributors to the Natoled Resolute Support mission with around 980 soldiers on the ground to support and train Afghan security forces.
The explosion was so heavy more than 50 vehicles were either destroyed or damaged.
China’s foreign ministry said its embassy was partly damaged but that all embassy staffers were “safe and sound” and that there had been no reports of injured Chinese citizens.
Residents described a mushroom cloud over Kabul and windows were shattered in shops, restaurants and other buildings up to half a mile from the blast site. Mohammad Haroon, who owns a sporting goods store near the site, said all the windows on his shop and others around him were shattered.
“I’ve never seen such a powerful explosion in my life,” he said.