A huge explosion has rocked Kabul close to the US embassy and several Afghan government ministries and security agencies. A number of people have been killed and injured in the blast, President Ashraf Ghani said.

Ghani slammed the attack “in the strongest possible terms,” adding that the offices of Afghanistan's main security agency were the target.

Photos have emerged showing plumes of smoke rising over the city center. According to Afghan Tolo news, a suicide bomber detonated explosive-laden vehicle outside Afghan Secret Service unit. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the suicide attack, Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the militant group said, as cited by AP.

At least eight Afghan soldiers suffered minor injuries in the blast, a spokesman for an emergency hospital in Kabul said, Reuters reported.

The blast took place in Wazir Akbar Khan neighborhood, one of the most affluent districts in the Afghan capital, a few hundred meters from the presidential palace, known as Arg. Also major Afghan security agencies, including the headquarters of the International Security Assistance Force and the Defense Ministry, are located in the area.

(RT)