At least 10 killed as explosion hits security compound in Kabul

At least 10 people were killed and another 19 injured when a car bomb struck a security compound in the Afghan capital, official sources told Efe news on Wednesday.

The powerful explosion occurred around 6.30 pm local time in the Dispichari area where there are several bases and offices of the Afghan security forces.

"Ten dead have been evacuated from the blast site and 19 injured were hospitalised," Afghan Public Health Ministry spokesman, Wahidullah Majroh, said.

"The initial investigation shows that it was a car bomb attack in the police district number nine, in a camp called G4S," Police spokesperson Basir Mujahid said, adding the security forces are inspecting the scene to ascertain whether or not foreigners were at the blast site.

G4S is a British security company.

A policeman, who was deployed in the area and requested anonymity for security reasons, told Efe that the bombed site was a foreign training complex for Afghani security forces.

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack which was near the highway connecting Kabul with the unstable eastern Afghanistan city of Jalalabad.

The attack came hours after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in Geneva called for the formation of a 12-person negotiating team to create a framework for the upcoming peace talks with the Taliban.

This year, Kabul has been the scene of multiple attacks, the most recent of which occurred last week when a suicide bomber killed 55 people at a wedding hall where believers had gathered to celebrate the birth of the Prophet Muhammad.

The most serious recent attack was in January, when the Taliban blew up an ambulance near the former Ministry of Interior, causing more than a hundred deaths.

--IANS

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