A suicide bomber and gunmen attacked a Spanish embassy compound in the Afghan capital Kabul on Friday evening local time.
A large explosion followed by gunfire has been heard in central Kabul in an apparent attack on a Spanish embassy guest house, and killing at least two people according to some reports
The Afghan interior ministry confirmed that a “terrorist” attack was under way in Kabul, but declined to give further details.
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Times of India reports:
“The embassy has been attacked. We are gathering details,” a foreign ministry spokesman in Madrid said, information that was confirmed by the Kabul police.
The embassy is in Sherpur in central Kabul, where a huge car bomb struck during rush hour on Friday evening, followed by ongoing bursts of gunfire in an assault that comes as the resurgent Taliban escalate attacks against government and foreign targets.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, but said the target was a foreign guest house. It was not immediately clear if the guest house was inside the embassy premises.
Spanish news agency Europa Press reported that President Mariano Rajoy had been informed, citing government sources.
The loud blast and gunfire were heard at 5:55 p.m. local time on Friday in the Shir Pur area of the capital, not far from an area that is home to foreign embassies and government buildings.
The attack,according to BNO news involving no less than three militants, appeared to have targeted a guest house belonging to the Spanish embassy.
Interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said that a car bomb had exploded in the Shir Pur area of Kabul, but he provided no further details about the exact target of the attack or the number of casualties. “Kabul Police are at the area of explosion, we will be releasing details as it emerges,” he said.
At least two people were killed in the attack, according to the Pajhwok news agency, which cited an unnamed source. The Italian non-profit “Emergency,” which has a hospital close to the scene of the attack, said it had received 7 Afghan patients by 7 p.m. Their conditions were not immediately known.
