A powerful vehicle bomb has hit the diplomatic area of the Afghan capital, Kabul, killing at least 80 people and injuring 350. It struck near Zanbaq Square in the heavily fortifi ed zone, with civilians said to be the main casualties. Th e morning rush-hour blast created a massive crater and blew out windows and doors hundreds of metres away. Th e Taliban have denied carrying out the attack. Th ere has been no word so far from socalled Islamic State. Both groups have been behind recent attacks in the country. Th e BBC has said that Mohammed Nazir, a driver for the corporation’s Afghan service, died in the explosion.
Th e bomb went off at about 08:25 local time (03:55 GMT) during rush hour at the diplomatic quarter. Makeshift ambulances carried wounded away from the scene, as frantic relatives gathered both at the cordoned-off perimeter of the blast site and later at hospitals to try to locate loved ones. Images showed dozens of blackened and burned out cars. More than 50 vehicles were destroyed.
Basir Mujahid a spokesman for Kabul police, told Reuters news agency the explosion had taken place close to the German embassy but added it was “hard to say what the exact target is”. Th ere are many other key buildings in the area, including the presidential palace and a number of embassies, including the British. Some reports say the bomb was in a lorry or water tanker. One Western diplomatic source told Agence France-Presse it was packed with more than 1,500kg of explosives
