Afghan attacks kill at least 28, over 300 injured

Taliban militants attacked an office of Afghanistan's main security agency with a suicide car bomb and gunfire on Tuesday, killing at least 28 people and wounding over 300, in their first assault on the capital since declaring a spring offensive.

President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack "in the strongest possible terms" in a statement from the presidential palace, only a few hundred metres away from the scene of the blast in central Kabul.

Police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi said civilians and members of the Afghan security forces were among the dead and wounded.

The attack appears to have targeted an agency similar to the U.S. Secret Service — providing protection for high-ranking government officials.

Sediq Sediqqi, spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said during a press conference that two people were involved in the attack. One drove the small truck rigged with hundreds of kilograms of explosives. The second entered the compound in the aftermath of the explosion and opened fire before he was eventually killed.

Sediqqi said the car bomb caused massive damage to buildings and vehicles in the area and added that the death toll could rise.

"With no doubt there was a security vacuum and that needs to be investigated, it is too early to comment on that right now," he said.

Ismail Kawasi, spokesman for the Public Health Ministry, said the injured have been brought to area hospitals.

"This was one of the most powerful explosions I have ever heard in my life," said Obaidullah Tarakhail, a police commander who was present when the attack began. Tarakhail said he couldn't see or hear anything for 20 minutes after the initial explosion. "All around was dark and covered with thick smoke and dust," he said.

Biggest attack since August

The blast during the morning traffic hour was easily the biggest in Kabul since a truck bombing wounded 240 people last August, and was the first in the capital since the Taliban declared the start of their spring offensive last week.

Pictures showed windows blown out at the front of an office that houses a National Directorate of Security (NDS) unit.

The Taliban announced the beginning of their spring offensive on April 12, and fighting had raged around the symbolically important northern city of Kunduz since then.

Kunduz, Afghanistan's fifth-largest city, fell briefly to the Taliban last September in the biggest blow to Ghani's government since NATO-led forces ended their combat operations at the end of 2014.

The Taliban said on their Pashto-language website that they had carried out the suicide bombing on "Department 10", an NDS unit which is responsible for protecting government ministers and VIPs.

They said a suicide car bomber blew up the main gate at the front of the office, allowing other fighters, including more suicide bombers, to enter the heavily guarded compound.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a separate statement that the attackers were engaged in a gun battle with Afghan security forces inside the building. It was not immediately possible to verify the details of the Taliban's claim with government officials. The group often exaggerates details of attacks against government and military targets.

The Taliban-led insurgency has gained strength since the withdrawal of most international combat troops, and the Taliban are believed to be stronger than at any point since they were driven from power by U.S.-backed forces in 2001.

Warning sirens blared out for some minutes from the embassy compound, which is also close to the headquarters of the NATO-led Resolute Support mission.

The U.S. embassy and the NATO mission both said they were not affected by the blast.