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| Afghan capital hit by bomb attack | |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| At least seven people have died in a series of explosions and gunfire in the Afghan capital, Kabul, officials say. | |
| A suicide bomber detonated his explosives and two other attackers were shot dead by the police, a government official said. | |
| Explosions and gunfire were heard close to a shopping centre and a hotel. | |
| 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 people. | |
| The BBC's Martin Patience, in Kabul, says the first blast happened at 0630 local time (0200 GMT) on Friday, close to a large shopping centre. | |
| Kabul police official Abdul Ghafor Sayedzada said two explosions 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. |
| At least two smaller explosions were heard later along with gunfire. | |
| Officials said two policemen had been killed in the attack, and there were reports of others injured. It was not clear whether any foreigners had been killed. | |
| One eyewitness said that he saw one suicide bomber blowing himself up on the first floor of the hotel. | 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. | |
| Sirens blared across the city and announcement from loudspeakers warned people to stay indoors. | |
| It is not clear what exactly was the target of the attack or who carried it out, our correspondent says. | |
| 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. | 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. |
| Are you in the area? If you have any information you wish to share with the BBC you can do so using the form below: | Are you in the area? If you have any information you wish to share with the BBC you can do so using the form below: |
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