Taliban car bomb rocks Afghan capital near US Embassy area

A suicide bomber blew himself up on Thursday in the centre of Kabul, the Afghan capital, government officials said, with the blast rattling windows and doors in an area near US embassy, NATO Resolute Support mission and other diplomatic missions government buildings.

The blast took place on Thursday in Shash Darak, a heavily fortified area adjacent to the Green Zone and home to several important complexes including the National Directorate of Security (NDS), the Afghan intelligence service.

Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said a car bomb had exploded on the main road and police were sealing off the area. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Ten bodies and 30 wounded people were brought to the nearby Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan hospital, said its director, Gul Ahmad Ayubi.

The capital has been gripped by a surge in deadly violence even after the US and the Taliban have reached an agreement “in principle” that would see the Pentagon pull.