A massive truck bomb exploded Wednesday morning in the diplomatic section of Afghanistan's capital, killing at least 50 people and wounding over 320 others, a health ministry spokesman told VOA.
The blast ripped through the central Wazir Akbar Khan area of Kabul, home to foreign diplomatic missions and government offices, damaging dozens of vehicles and surrounding buildings. Initial reports said the explosives were hidden in a water tanker.
Afghan officials say the casualty figures are likely to rise.
The target of the massive bombing was not immediately clear. It happened in an area not far from the German embassy. However, the explosion mostly devastated a nearby building, housing the main office of Roshan, the leading telecommunications service provider in Afghanistan.
Afghan security forces swiftly cordoned off the area and international troops also have arrived at the site to assist in rescue efforts. There were no immediate claims of responsibility for what residents in Kabul said appeared to be one of the deadliest bombings in years.
Wednesday's attack comes amid intensified deadly Taliban attacks on Afghan forces while loyalists of Islamic State have also conducted terrorist strikes against high-profile targets in recent months in and outside Kabul.
The latest violence also comes as President Ashraf Ghani is set to host a conference of neighboring and regional countries in Kabul next week to discuss ways to end an increasingly deadly Afghan conflict.
阿富汗卫生部一名发言人告诉美国之音,首都喀布尔的外交使馆区星期三早晨发生一次巨大的卡车炸弹爆炸事件,造成至少50人丧生,320多人受伤。
爆炸炸坏了喀布尔的瓦兹尔·阿克巴·汗区,那里坐落着很多外国外交使团和政府办公室,炸毁了数十辆车辆和周边建筑物。最初报道称,爆炸物被藏在一辆水车里。
阿富汗官员表示,伤亡数字可能还会上升。
此次严重炸弹爆炸事件的袭击目标目前还不清楚。爆炸发生在距离德国大使馆不远的地方。但是爆炸最主要炸毁了邻近的一座建筑,那里是阿富汗最大的电讯服务商罗山电信公司的主要办公地点。
阿富汗安全部队迅速封锁了这一地区,国际部队也抵达该地协助救援。目前还没有人声称对此事件负责。喀布尔的居民表示,该事件可能是多年来最为致命的一次。
星期三的袭击事件发生之际,塔利班正在对阿富汗部队发动密集的致命攻击,伊斯兰国的效忠分子最近几个月来也一直在喀布尔城内外针对主要目标发动恐怖袭击。
最新暴力事件发生的同时,阿富汗总统加尼预定下周要在喀布尔主办一次邻国和地区国家的会议,讨论结束阿富汗不断升级的冲突。
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