Kabul bombing kills at least 80 near city's diplomatic district
A massive explosion in Kabul near a diplomatic area of the Afghan city killed at least 80 people and injured more than 300 Wednesday.
Franz Marty is a freelance journalist who lives close to where the blast took place.
"Bombings are no rarity in Kabul," Marty tells The Current's Anna Maria Tremonti.
"It's just the magnitude that set it apart from other attacks."
The car bomb explosion happened in one of the most guarded areas of the city during rush hour when roads were quite busy with commuters. The blast was so strong that it shattered windows in areas relatively far away from the site sending the city into a panic.
"[It happened in the] centre of city," Marty says.
"It was on a street right outside the so-called 'green zone' where most Western embassies are located."
The embassies, protected by blast walls, suffered damage but there are no immediate reports of foreign diplomats being among the injured.
"It appears to be that virtually all of [the victims] are just average Afghan people that use this road that passes by embassies," he explains.
Attack during the holy month of Ramadan
The attack— which officials said was a suicide car bombing — has yet to be properly claimed.
"The Taliban, at the beginning of Ramadan, released a statement that calls to cease fighting during the fasting month … "
"However the Taliban officially said that they had nothing to do with today's incident," Marty says.
"If this is true or not is hard to say because the Taliban are known if an attack goes wrong, and only kills civilians, that they then deny responsibility even though it might have been Taliban fighters that conducted it."
Listen to this segment at the top of the web post.
This segment was produced by Lara O'Brien.