Afghan police examine the site of two suicide bombings in Kabul on September 5, 2016.
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Afghan security forces ended an 11-hour standoff in central Kabul on Tuesday, killing the last gunman holding out after an attack that began when a vehicle bomber blew himself up in a prosperous business and residential area.
Glass from shattered windows lay on the street near the explosion as police sealed off the area. There was no immediate word on casualties.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks. “There are also markets around there”. Authorities had earlier put the number of attackers at two.
Sediq Sediqqi, the spokesman for the Ministry of Interior says the target of the attack was not immediately clear. Twin bombings near the Afghan Defense Ministry have killed dozens of people in an attack claimed by the T.
Mohammad Ismail Kawousi, a spokesman for the public health ministry, said the death toll from the explosions could still rise.
The incident occurred in one of the most crowded areas of the capital where the Presidential Administrative Office, Ministry of Defence and district police headquarters are located, all within close proximity. An initial explosion was followed minutes later by a second explosion that caught many soldiers and civilians who rushed to help victims.
“We have rescued several families from the area”, he said.
Security forces sealed off the centre of Kabul on Tuesday as they battled the gunmen, who barricaded themselves inside the offices of an worldwide aid group.
President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack saying it had been carried out by “the enemies of Afghanistan who have lost their ability to fight the security and defence forces”.
“That is why they are attacking highways, cities, mosques, schools and common people”. At least one civilian was killed and six others were wounded as a result of the attack, he said.
“Right after the explosion, a huge flame rose and everything was covered with smoke, and then Afghan security forces arrived and blocked the area”, he said.
The increase in violence in the capital comes as the Taliban escalate nationwide attacks, underscoring the worsening security situation since North Atlantic Treaty Organisation forces ended their combat mission at the end of 2014.
Afghan forces backed by USA troops are seeking to head off a potential Taliban takeover of Lashkar Gah, the capital of the southern opium-rich province of Helmand.
Outside Kabul, the insurgents have stepped up their military campaign, threatening Lashkar Gah, capital of the strategic southern province of Helmand, as well as Kunduz, the northern city they briefly took past year.
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North Atlantic Treaty Organisation coalition forces have insisted that neither Kunduz nor Lashkar Gah are at risk of falling to the Taliban.
