Taliban claims truck bomb blast in Afghan capital Kabul

The Taliban claimed responsibility for a truck bomb attack on a military and logistics services compound, mainly used by foreigners, in Kabul early on Monday after a powerful explosion was heard all around the city.

As day broke, gunfire and occasional explosions rang out over the industrial zone where security forces had taken up positions near the site of the Northgate Hotel, a secure residential compound for foreign military and civilian organizations.

Security officials said four heavily armed attackers were at the site, suggesting a coordinated operation between suicide bombers and gunmen.

There was no immediate word on casualties from Afghan authorities, although the Taliban claimed there were “dozens of dead and wounded”. The group often exaggerates the extent of attacks it launches against Afghan government and foreign security targets.

After the attack, Afghan security forces closed off streets around the site, which is east of Kabul’s main international airport and on the way to the sprawling Bagram air base north of the city.

Columns of vehicles carrying troops and police were in the area and heavy automatic gunfire could be heard, along with rocket propelled grenades fired by Afghan security forces.

Telephone calls to the hotel went unanswered. The facility is in a walled compound of a type typically used by foreign security and civilian organizations in Kabul.