Large explosion reported from Afghanistan’s capital Kabul

A huge explosion has been reported from Kabul just hours after twin bombing attacks rock the Afghan capital.

According to Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry on Monday, the blast was the result of a car bomb and that its actual target is still unclear. Following the blast, armed assailants forcefully entered a nearby building, which police believe is a guest house for diplomats.

The blast was followed by sporadic shootings, which lasted for around an hour.

Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said one person has been killed and six others have been injured in the incident, adding, “More than 30 people who were trapped have been evacuated by the security forces.”

A search is underway for the attackers holed up in a nearby building.

Earlier, at least 24 people were killed and 91 injured as two explosions, claimed by the Taliban terrorist group, ripped through Kabul.

“Two suicide bombers, both on foot, detonated their explosives… in downtown Kabul,” Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said. “The attackers blew themselves up one after another and unfortunately we do have police and civilian casualties.”

Afghanistan has been gripped by insecurity since the US and its allies invaded the country as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror in 2001. Many parts of the country still remain plagued by militancy despite the presence of foreign troops.

Taliban have regrouped since the death of former leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour earlier in the year and are reported to be currently in control of some areas in Afghanistan.

Fierce fighting is currently ongoing between the Afghan army and the militants across the country, notably in Helmand and around the northern city of Kunduz, which they had briefly seized last year.