KABUL — Two suicide bombings early Friday rocked a Kabul neighborhood near a hotel popular with Westerners.
The blasts were heard within about 10 minutes of each other from 5:45am local time, with sporadic gunfire also breaking out.
Smoke could be seen rising from the area, which is near the Intercontinental Hotel and the heavily-secured home of Afghanistan’s First Vice President Mohammad Qasim Fahim.
At the scene was the burning wreckage of a car that had rammed into the wall of an office and exploded. There were ambulances on hand and helicopters overhead, an AFP reporter said.
Steven Clemons, the publisher of the popular US political blog, The Washington Note, said the first explosion shook his hotel.
“Yikes. Big explosion just occurred in Kabul. Shook my hotel. Dont know what it was — bomb, rocket, not sure,” he tweeted.
“Just heard 2nd explosion in Kabul – 30 seconds ago. Less big — but significant.”
He said the blasts hit on Afghanistan Independence Day, a national holiday, in the Karte Parwan region of Kabul.
The city’s police chief later confirmed that there had been two suicide explosions.
“There have been two suicide explosions. My boys are engaged. I will give more information later,” Ayub Salangi told AFP.
Clemons said Black Hawk helicopters could be seen racing to the scene, with unconfirmed reports the blasts may have targeted the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan or the British Consulate.