Several people have been killed and more than 200 have been injured in a huge explosion in the centre of the Afghan capital Kabul, officials say.
Interior ministry
spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said a suicide attacker had detonated a vehicle.
Gunfire can still be heard.
A
Taliban spokesman said the group carried out the attack.
It
comes a week after it said it was launching its "spring offensive",
warning of "large-scale attacks".
Tuesday's
bombing happened during the morning rush hour in a residential neighbourhood
close to the ministry of defense and military compounds.
There are unverified
claims that Taliban fighters managed to breach the defenses of the National
Directorate of Security, the main spy agency which protects high-ranking
government officials.
The
"blast was carried out by a suicide bomber in a car and possibly one or
two bombers are still resisting", Mr Sediqqi was quoted as saying.
"The
scene of the attack has been completely cordoned off by Afghan security
forces."
The presidential
palace - only a few hundred meters from the blast - condemned the attack
"in the strongest possible terms".
"Such
cowardly terrorist attacks will not weaken the will and determination of Afghan
security forces to fight against terrorism."
A
tweet from President Ghani's office's official account suggested the attack
"clearly shows the enemy's defeat in face-to-face battle with ANSDF"
- the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces.
The Taliban has over
the past year enjoyed a resurgence, buoyed by the withdrawal of most Nato and
US forces at the end of 2014, and a flood of foreign fighters joining their
ranks.
It now controls sizeable parts of Afghanistan.
Sourcs: BBC
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