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Explosion shakes Afghan capital | |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A large explosion and gunfire have been heard in the centre of the Afghan capital, Kabul, reports say. | |
Gunmen and suicide bombers are said to be behind the blast. One bomber had blown himself up inside a hotel, reports said. | |
Five people have been wounded in the attack, the ministry of health said. | |
Kabul has been the target of infrequent but often extremely deadly insurgent attacks, but has been relatively quiet for the past month. | Kabul has been the target of infrequent but often extremely deadly insurgent attacks, but has been relatively quiet for the past month. |
On 18 January, Taliban bombers and gunmen attacked government targets and shopping malls in Kabul, killing 12. | |
The BBC's Martin Patience, in Kabul, says the blast happened at 0630 local time (0200 GMT) close to a large shopping centre. | The BBC's Martin Patience, in Kabul, says the blast happened at 0630 local time (0200 GMT) close to a large shopping centre. |
Kabul police official Abdul Ghafor Sayedzada said the at least one explosion had happened near the nine-storey Kabul City Center shopping area, close to the Safi Landmark Hotel, the Associated Press reported. | |
A building in front of the hotel had caught fire, he said. | A building in front of the hotel had caught fire, he said. |
One eyewitness said that he saw one suicide bomber blowing himself up on the first floor of the hotel. | |
"I saw foreigners were crying and shouting. It was a very bad situation inside. God help me; otherwise I would be dead," one hotel worker, called Najibullah, said. | |
Although the shopping centre is in the heart of Kabul, our correspondent says the timing of the explosion - in the morning at the start of what is effectively the Afghan weekend - meant few people were likely to be in the area. | Although the shopping centre is in the heart of Kabul, our correspondent says the timing of the explosion - in the morning at the start of what is effectively the Afghan weekend - meant few people were likely to be in the area. |
The violence comes as Nato and Afghan forces continue Operation Moshtarak, driving Taliban fighters from their strongholds in Helmand province, in the south of Afghanistan. | |
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