NEWS
Breaking: 80 Killed, Over 350 Injured In Kabul Explosion Near Indian Embassy
At least 80 people have been killed and over 350 wounded in a huge explosion near the German Embassy in Kabul on Wednesday morning, leaving over 350 severely wounded in a few hundred metres from the Indian embassy close to a highly secure diplomatic area. The area where the explosion took place is close to the presidential palace and several foreign embassies.
Video from the scene showed a towering plume of black smoke and emergency vehicles speeding toward it. Soldiers in fatigues stood with guns drawn as sounds of screams, blaring sirens and traffic pierced the morning sky.
Bystanders lifted an injured man from the back of a pickup as others hovered nearby in bloody shirts, some pressing pieces of cloth to their wounds. Mangled, burning cars stood nearby.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has tweeted that Indian officials are safe.
The blast was caused by a suicide attack, according to Najib Danish, a spokesman for the interior ministry. The Afghan health ministry confirmed the casualty numbers, which are expected to rise.
The US Embassy, which is close by, said “a large vehicle borne improvised explosive device” detonated near the southern edge of the diplomatic area.
“The US Embassy does not appear to have been the target of the blast,” a spokesperson said, and referred questions on casualties to the Afghanistan government.
Wall Street Journal reporter Jessica Donati said a vehicle packed with explosives detonated close to the green zone entrance. It injured one employee and shattered windows in the newspaper’s bureau, which is in the most fortified area and requires passing through several checkpoints to get there, she said.
