Loud blast rocks Kabul

A loud explosion rocked the Afghan capital on Tuesday, spewing out a huge cloud of black smoke shortly before a major conference on tackling corruption was to begin, Agence France-Presse reporters said.

Ambulances were seen rushing from the scene of the blast where the cloud of black smoke and dust hung over the upmarket district of Wazir Akhbar Khan, home to many foreign embassies and aid groups.

An Interior Ministry official said the cause of the blast was not immediately clear, but it was suspected to be a suicide attack.

The blast occurred shortly before 10am (06.30GMT) as lawmakers, government officials and foreign ambassadors gathered for the conference on efforts to crack down on endemic corruption in Afghanistan.

On Monday, the top US military officer held talks in Kabul on a US surge of 30 000 troops scheduled to start arriving this week, warning that violence in the war-torn country was likely to get worse before it gets better.

“I told our troops heading here to steel themselves for more combat and more casualties,” Admiral Mike Mullen told reporters.

Kabul has been rocked by a rising number of suicide and rocket attacks with the Taliban-led insurgency at its deadliest in the eight years since US-led troops ousted the Islamist militia’s regime.—AFP