Two killed, several injured in a blast in Kabul near foreign ministry

New Delhi: Two people were killed and 12 injured in a blast near Afghanistan’s ministry of foreign affairs, according to a hospital run by an Italian NGO in the capital Kabul.

Al Jazeera reported that some injured were received at an Italian NGO Emergency surgical centre specialising in treating victims of the long-drawn war in downtown Kabul. 

A tweet from the NGO said at least one child was among the injured.  Unconfirmed reports suggest a suicide bomber blew himself up in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs near a business centre in Kabul.  

Two witnesses told Reuters news agency they heard the sound of a large explosion near the heavily fortified area home to several government buildings and foreign embassies.  

Spokespeople for the police, the information ministry and the ministry of foreign affairs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.  

Kabul and other urban areas have been hit by several attacks in recent months, some of which have been claimed by the ISIS K group.  

A blast in January killed at least five people and injured dozens at the ministry of foreign affairs as employees streamed out of the building at the end of the working day.  

Monday’s incident occurred around lunchtime when the city was exceptionally crowded as government office staff leave early for the day during the Islamic month of Ramadan.