“Apparently a restaurant has been attacked”, interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said, citing initial information.
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“Terrorist attacks killing innocent civilians is an unforgivable crime and unjustified in any religion”, he said in a statement. A local journalist in a tweet said one assailant detonated his explosives inside the vehicle, another fled and one was detained.
Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi confirmed that two people, including a child, had been killed and over 15 others were wounded in the attack. It came nearly a year after 21 people, including 13 foreigners, were killed in an attack on a popular Lebanese restaurant in the city. A Taliban spokesman said the bomber targeted a restaurant belonging to foreigners.
Gunshots were reportedly heard following the explosion and security forces rushed to Taimani, where the attack occurred.
Violence has been rising as the U.S.-led global military coalition in Afghanistan has scaled down and focused more on training and advising the Afghan security forces.
The operation to free the prisoners followed months of fighting in which the Taliban has seized several district centres in Helmand, a major centre of opium cultivation and one of its traditional strongholds.
Meanwhile, the Afghan government is pushing for peace talks with the Taliban militant group, which made surprising gains in 2015.
The powerful explosion tore through a quiet residential neighborhood and rained smoldering auto parts down on houses a block away.
Officials from Afghanistan, Pakistan, the United States and China are due to meet in Pakistan on January 11 for a meeting aimed at laying the ground for talks with the insurgents.
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Gen. Sharif’s visit to Kabul follows talks between Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over recent weeks that sought to pave the way for a Islamabad-brokered peace process.
