At least four people were killed and more than 100 were wounded when a car bomb exploded near a foreign compound in the east of Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, on January 14, officials said.
An official at Kabul’s Emergency Hospital said 15 wounded had been brought there, while a Reuters witness saw dozens of severely injured people being rushed to Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital from the blast site.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, but Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said the blast had targeted Green Village, where some foreign NGOs and workers used to be based.
Danish said at least 24 children were among the wounded.
Until recently, some UN staff lived and worked at the compound, but Danish said the area was now largely empty and “only a number of guards” were left.
“Residential buildings nearby have sustained heavy damage,” Danish said. “Special police force units have been deployed to the site to check if there are more attackers.”
The latest attack comes as U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad is touring the region for meetings aimed at bringing an end to the 17-year war in Afghanistan.
Last week, Taliban leaders called off the fourth round of talks with U.S. officials in the Arab Gulf state of Qatar due to an “agenda disagreement,” and refused to allow what they called “puppet” Afghan government officials to join the talks.
