Suicide car bomber attacks heart of Afghanistan’s Kabul

At least six killed and many more wounded in first major Taliban attack since the group announced it “spring offensive”.

At least six people were killed and many wounded when a suicide car bomber blew himself up near the defence ministry in the heart of the Afghan capital, police said.

Al Jazeera’s Qais Azimy, reporting from Kabul, said the explosion went off in the centre of the city at a busy time, in an attack quickly claimed by the Taliban.

Police said that 30 people were wounded and health ministry officials later gave a figure of 200.

“What we know from police sources is that a suicide bomber, who was driving a vehicle with explosives, detonated himself targeting a convoy of Afghan army near the defence ministry building,” Azimy said.

“Witnesses are telling us the attack was followed by some gunfire. The Afghan police believe there could be a number of attackers in one of the buildings nearby.”

A Kabul police spokesman, Basir Mujahid, told Al Jazeera that the gunfight was ongoing, as Afghan special forces rushed to the scene.

“The Taliban are still fighting with the security forces,” Mujahid said.

In a statement, the Presidential Palace condemned the attack “in the strongest possible terms”.

“The explosion has caused a lot of damage to the government,” Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, told Al Jazeera.

This is the first major attack since the Taliban announced the start of its yearly “spring offensive” last week.

The US embassy said it was not affected by the blast. The NATO military coalition also said it was unaffected.