Large explosion in Afghan capital kills young girl, wounds 6

Najib Danish, spokesman for the Interior Ministry said the source of the explosion was a vehicle belonging to a foreign company but did not name it or specify if the blast was a bombing. (Photo: Najib Danish/Facebook)

KABUL – A large explosion in the eastern part of the Afghan capital on Friday morning killed at least one person, a young girl, and wounded six people, an Afghan official said.

Mohammad Alim Asim, chief of the Kabul ambulance services did not immediately have more details on the explosion or what had caused it. Earlier, police only said there were casualties in the blast but did not release any figures in the immediate aftermath.

Basir Mujahid, spokesman for the Kabul police chief, said the blast occurred in eastern Kabul, in an area that is home to a military training centre, the government’s customs offices and some guest houses.

Najib Danish, spokesman for the Interior Ministry said the source of the explosion was a vehicle belonging to a foreign company but did not name it or specify if the blast was a bombing.

No more details were immediately available.

Kabul has recently seen a spate of large-scale militant attacks by the Taliban and also the Islamic State group, whose affiliate in Afghanistan has grown stronger since it emerged in2014.

In late January, a Taliban attacker drove an ambulance filled with explosives into the heart of the city, killing at least 103 people and wounding as many as 235.

The Taliban claimed the ambulance attack, as well as an attack a week earlier in which militants stormed a luxury hotel in Kabul, killing 22 people, including 14 foreigners, and setting off a 13-hour battle with security forces.

The recent attacks have underscored the weaknesses of Afghan security forces more than 16 years after the U.S.-led invasion toppled the Taliban.