Kabul Suicide Bombing Photos: Massive Explosion Near Foreign Embassies Kills, Wounds Dozens

UPDATE: 6.33 a.m. EDT – The Islamic State group (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the bombing in the Afghan capital of Kabul that killed at least 80 people and injured several others, according to a local report.

UPDATE: 5:42 a.m. EDT – BBC News announced Wednesday the death of BBC Afghan driver Mohammed Nazir. He was driving journalist colleagues to the office when the explosion took place near the German Embassy in Kabul.

Four BBC journalists were also injured in the attack and are currently being treated for nonlife-threatening injuries.

UPDATE: 4:09 a.m. EDT – As unconfirmed reports claimed that the death toll from a blast in the Afghan capital of Kabul rose to at least 100, a spokesman for Taliban claimed that the group was not responsible for the attack, according to Al Jazeera.

NATO’s secretary general Jens Stoltenberg condemned Wednesday’s attack that occurred close to the German embassy in Kabul.

UPDATE: 3:12 a.m. EDT – Afghan Interior Ministry said 64 people were killed and 320 other injured in the bombing in Kabul.

The U.S. Embassy in Kabul issued a statement Wednesday warning its citizens of serious threats following the attack.

“The U.S. Embassy in Kabul reports that a large explosion has taken place in the city of Kabul near the German Embassy. There are media reports of casualties as a result of the explosion. Afghan Government authorities are responding to the attack. U.S. citizens in Kabul are advised to avoid traveling to that area,” the statement read.

“The U.S. Embassy reminds all U.S. citizens that serious threats to safety and security exist in the city of Kabul and throughout Afghanistan. Militant groups usually plan attacks against locations and individuals with potential American connections, including Afghan and U.S. government facilities, foreign embassies, military installations, commercial entities, non-governmental organization offices, restaurants, hotels, airports, and educational centers. The threat of kidnapping is high. The potential also exists for protests to occur in Afghan cities at short notice," it added.

UPDATE: 2:47 a.m. EDT– Health Ministry spokesman Ismael Kawoosi said Wednesday that the death toll from a massive explosion in Afghanistan’s Kabul is expected rise further.

"They are still bringing bodies and wounded people to hospitals," he reportedly said.

A German security source told BBC that it was unclear whether any of Germany's embassy staff had been killed or injured in the attack. French officials also said the country's embassy had been damaged but there were no signs at this stage of any French casualties.

The blast, which comes amid recent Taliban and Islamic State group attacks in the capital, has not been claimed by any terrorist group so far.

UPDATE: 1:57 a.m. EDT – The Afghan health ministry said Wednesday that at least nine people were killed and 84 injured in the blast outside foreign embassies in Kabul. However, local media reports said the death toll was 50 and more than 150 others were injured.

So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Original Story:

A huge explosion rocked Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul early Wednesday killing at least 40 people and injuring at least 60, the interior ministry said. The suicide bombing took place in an area close to foreign embassies and the presidential palace.

Waheed Majroh, a spokesman for Afghan health ministry, told Al Jazeera that at least 60 people were taken to hospital after the blast. Early reports say the blast was caused by a car bomb in central Zanbaq Square, in the Afghan capital's 10th district.

Read: War In Afghanistan: Kabul Calls For Additional US Troops To Combat Taliban, ISIS

Several people were killed and wounded in the blast near the fortified entrance to the German embassy, Basir Mujahid a spokesman for Kabul police, said.

“It was a car bomb near the German embassy, but there are several other important compounds and offices there. It is hard to say what the bomber's exact target was,” Mujahid said.

Najib Danish, deputy spokesman for the interior ministry, said the impact of the blast was so huge more than 30 vehicles were either destroyed or damaged.

The blast reportedly took place less than a mile away from the Indian Embassy in Kabul. India’s Union Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj confirmed on Twitter that the embassy was safe after the blast.

Images circulating on social media showed a huge plume of smoke in the sky.

"The explosion was so loud that it shattered the windows of my house, did not hear anything this big before," Fatima Faizi, a Kabul resident, told Al Jazeera.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack but, the capital city was previously targeted by the resurgent Taliban and the Islamic State group (ISIS).

Several recent bombings in the Afghan capital, including a powerful blast targeting an armored NATO convoy that killed at least eight people and wounded 28 others on May 3 was carried out by ISIS.

This is a developing story.