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| Afghan defence ministry in Kabul hit by suicide attack | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A suicide bomb has exploded outside the Afghan defence ministry in the centre of Kabul, police say. | |
| At least three civilians have been killed and six other people wounded, officials have told the BBC. | |
| Reports said a loud explosion was followed by the sound of heavy gunfire. The area is heavily defended. | |
| The explosion happened shortly after the new US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel arrived in Afghanistan on an official visit. | The explosion happened shortly after the new US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel arrived in Afghanistan on an official visit. |
| A spokesman for the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) quoted by Reuters said Mr Hagel was nowhere near the explosion. | A spokesman for the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) quoted by Reuters said Mr Hagel was nowhere near the explosion. |
| Kabul police chief Mohammad Zahir told the BBC that ambulances had taken the injured to several hospitals and that the situation was under control. | |
| Earlier, Mr Hagel who became defence secretary last week told reporters travelling with him he wanted to see for himself "where we are in Afghanistan". | |
| "I need to better understand what's going on," he said. | |
| There are currently about 66,000 US military personal in the country and early next year that figure will drop to 34,000. | |
| The question of how many international troops will remain after 2014 is still unknown. |