At least 80 are dead and 350 injured in massive suicide car bomb attack near British, US, French and German embassies in Kabul
- Huge suicide truck bomb explosion rocked part of Kabul that houses embassies
- At least 80 have been killed and 350 more are injured, officials said this morning
- Taliban and ISIS have staged large-scale attacks in the Afghan capital in the past
At least 80 are dead and 350 more are injured after a massive truck bomb ripped through Kabul's diplomatic quarter this morning.
Bodies littered the street and a towering plume of smoke could be seen over the Afghan capital after the suicide attack blew out the windows in a number of international missions and residences nearby.
The target of the blast, which happened near the British, French, German and US embassies, was not immediately known but authorities said most of the casualties were civilians.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast but both the Taliban and ISIS have staged large-scale attacks in Kabul in the past.
Amid the chaos and confusion in the aftermath of the blast this morning, officials initially said 50 had been killed. Reuters later reported the country's health ministry as saying the death toll was at least 80.
The explosion caused carnage during rush hour when roads are packed with worktime commuters.
The interior ministry was calling on Kabul residents to donate blood this morning, saying hospitals were in 'dire need'.
It appeared to have gone off close to a busy intersection in the Wazir Akbar Khan district but Najib Danish, deputy spokesman for the Interior Ministry, did not have a more precise location.
The neighbourhood is considered Kabul's safest area, with foreign embassies protected by dozens of 10-foot-high blast walls and government offices, guarded by police and national security forces.
The German Embassy, the Foreign Ministry and the Presidential Palace are all in the area, as are the British and the Canadian embassies. The Chinese, Turkish and Iranian embassies are also located there.
The French and German embassies were damaged by the massive bomb that ripped through Kabul's strongly fortified diplomatic quarter on Wednesday, a French minister said.
'The information that I have at the moment is that there is material damage in the French embassy, there is also material damage in the Germany embassy,' European affairs minister Marielle de Sarnez told Europe 1 radio.
She added she had no information on any possible casualties at the two missions.
MailOnline has contacted Britain's Foreign and Commonwealth Office for comment.
The blast was so heavy that more than 30 vehicles were either destroyed or damaged at the site of the attack. 'We don't know at this moment what was the target of the attack,' said Danish.
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