Suicide bomb explosion near hotel in Kabul

Suicide bomb blast near hotel in Kabul

KABUL — A suicide bomb explosion Tuesday in Afghanistan’s capital damaged a hotel frequented by foreigners, a government official said. The extent of casualties was not immediately clear.

The mid-morning blast damaged the Heetal Hotel in Kabul’s Wazir Akbar Khan district.

Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, a spokesman for the Defense Ministry, confirmed the suicide attack. He said he did not know how many people were killed or wounded, but that there were casualties.

An witness at the scene, a 22-year-old English student at Kabul University, reported seeing a black four-wheeled drive vehicle at the hotel.

“It drove very slowly to the checkpoint” of the hotel, said Hamayun Azizi. “And then it blew up.”

In addition to the hotel, several homes were damaged and windows shattered in other buildings in the neighborhood. A car burned at the entrance of the hotel and a large cloud of dark gray smoke rose from the area.

Police and emergency vehicles rushed to the area and were seen taking injured persons to the hospital. Members of the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police secured the area.

The hotel is owned by the son of Burhanuddin Rabbani, who served as president of Afghanistan from 1992 until 1996.