By DPA,
Kabul/New Delhi : At least seven people were killed in a suicide attack Monday morning that targetted the Indian embassy in the Afghan capital, officials said.
Five people died on the spot while two succumbed to their injuries in hospital after a suicide bomber blew up his explosives-packed car, according to the Afghan defence ministry.
The attack took place near to the interior ministry, said Zemarai Bashary, interior ministry spokesman.
An official of India’s Ministry of External Affairs said that there were Indian casualties, most of them security personnel, and confirmed that embassy officials going to work were the target of the attack which took place at around 8:30 am outside the gate of the embassy.
“The surrounding area has been cordoned off and the embassy staff taken out,” said an Indian official.
Afghan media reported that at least 15 people were killed or injured in the attack. A TV report quoted doctors from the hospital saying around 16 injured arrived in the emergency room so far.
Security forces have sealed off the area.
A witness said “the blast destroyed a number of vehicles parked around the area.”
As a result of the powerful blast, windowpanes of nearby buildings and a number of cars were damaged in the attack.
In recent years, the Afghan capital Kabul was witness to a series of bomb explosions and suicide attacks blamed on Taliban insurgents.