Kabul attack: Gunfire after explosions hit Afghan capital

Image copyrightAFP

Image captionAfghan security forces are at the site of an explosion in Kabul

Afghan police say a suicide attack has taken place outside the Iraqi embassy in the capital, Kabul.

Gunfire was heard following several explosions in the central Shar-e-Naw neighbourhood.

A gun battle is said to be under way and civilians are being evacuated from the area.

So-called Islamic State said it carried out the latest attack. Kabul has seen a number of deadly assaults this year blamed on either IS or the Taliban.

One security official is quoted as saying a suicide bomber targeted the area housing a police headquarters and the Iraqi embassy compound.

Pictures on social media show black plumes of smoke rising into the sky.

It is not yet known whether anyone has been hurt.

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According to the United Nations, the country has seen at least 1,662 civilian deaths in the first half of the year, with about 20% of those in the capital.

Last Monday a suicide car bomb killed at least 30 people in a mainly Shia district of Kabul.

On 31 May, a huge bombing in the centre of the city killed more than 150 people, the deadliest militant attack in the country since US-led forces ousted the Taliban from power in 2001.

BBC News