Explosion in west of Kabul leaves 3 killed, 2 injured

Iranian IRIB correspondent has quoted eyewitnesses as saying that an explosion has been heard west of the Afghan capital of Kabul on Saturday.

Media have quoted local sources as saying that the explosion had taken place in Mahtab Qala Gulai in the Dasht-e Barchi area west of Kabul and that a car had caught fire.

Eyewitnesses said the explosion struck a bus on a busy road in Kabul.

"We heard a huge blast in the minibus carrying commuters in Mahtab Qala locality of Dashti Bari area. The whole place has now been sealed off by the Taliban's security forces," an eyewitness told Xinhua.

The vehicle caught fire, sending a column of thick smoke into the sky and triggering panic, the witness said.

The Taliban official, who declined to be named, said six people had been killed and at least seven wounded in the blast in the Dasht-e Barchi area of western Kabul, the latest in a series of attacks across Afghanistan in recent weeks, Reuters reported.

There was no confirmation of casualty numbers and no immediate claim of responsibility. 

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban's main spokesman, said a fire had broken out in the Dasht-e Barchi area of western Kabul, killing at least one civilian and injuring two others. An investigation was underway, he said in a tweet.

The country has recently been hit by a chain of blasts targeting mosques and other public places that have claimed dozens of lives and injured even more.

Anyway, according to the latest reports, at least 3 people were killed and 2 more were injured.

KI/Live