Car Bomb Explosion Near Kabul Airport Kills At Least 3, Including British National; Taliban Claims Responsibility

Update as of 6:25 a.m. EDT: A British national was among the three people killed when a car filled with explosives detonated Sunday morning on a road leading to a NATO facility near Kabul's international airport, the Telegraph reported, citing a British embassy spokesperson. The Briton, who was not named, was part of a European Union Police Mission convoy, the report said.

Update as of 4:42 a.m. EDT: A foreign national was among the three people killed in Sunday morning's car-bomb attack targeting a convoy including vehicles from the European Union Police Mission in Kabul, Agence France-Presse reported. The foreign national killed in the attack, which was claimed by the Taliban, was working with a European Union police unit, the report said.

"The target of the attacker was the foreign forces convoy. So far we have two women dead, 18 others wounded, all of them civilians," Kabul police spokesman Ebadullah Karimi told AFP, adding three children were among those wounded.

Update as of 3:16 a.m. EDT: The death toll in Sunday morning's car-bomb attack, which was targeted at a European Union vehicle, has risen to three, Reuters reported. The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack, the report said.

Sari Haukka-Konu, a spokeswoman for the European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan, which advises law enforcement officials in Afghanistan, confirmed one of EUPOL’s vehicles was hit and said the organization's personnel were safe with nonfatal injuries, Reuters reported. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack.

Original story:

At least two people have been killed and about 18 injured after a car bomb exploded Sunday near the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, according to reports. The explosion occurred inside a major checkpoint on a road leading into the airport and near the office of the Afghan Civil Aviation Authority, the Associated Press reported.

The attack, which was possibly targeted at vehicles belonging to the European Union Police Mission, was triggered by a suicide bomber detonating a car loaded with explosives, the report said. Both of the deceased were women, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for the Afghan Ministry of Interior. The explosion reportedly occurred at about 9 a.m., local time (12:30 a.m. EDT).

"We believe our vehicles were involved," Sari Haukka-Konu, a spokeswoman for EUPOL, told AP.

It was not clear who was responsible for the attack. Last week, the Taliban which has sought to destabilize President Ashraf Ghani's government, claimed responsibility for an attack on a guest house that killed 14 people, including foreign nationals.

According to Reuters, which cited police spokesman Ebadullah Karimi, the suicide bomber rammed the car -- a Toyota Corolla -- into a convoy of foreign troops near NATO military facility on the road to the international airport.