12, including 3 US contractors, killed in Kabul blast

A powerful bomb explosion has rocked the Afghan capital, Kabul, killing at least 12 people, including three US contractors, Press TV reports.

The police chief of Kabul announced on Saturday that the blast happened near a private medical facility. The explosion occurred very close to the US embassy and Kabul international airport. The bomber reportedly detonated his explosive-packed vehicle. 

The US embassy has been locked down. The emergency sirens of the US embassy were sounded and loudspeakers broadcast “duck and cover” alarm warnings.  

A police source said the main target of the blast was a convoy of foreign troops that was passing the area.

US-led NATO has said that the three foreign contractors killed by the Afghan car bomb were Americans. One died instantly and two later died of their wounds.

The Afghan ministry of public health has announced that 60 others have been wounded. The wounded have been evacuated to hospitals. 

The scene of the explosion is surrounded by Afghan forces.

“There has been an explosion in the Fourth Macroyan residential neighborhood of Kabul city," said Fraidoon Obaidi, the head of Kabul's Criminal Investigation Department, adding, “We are investigating the nature of the bombing.”  

The blast came just few weeks after Taliban picked a new leader and resumed a fresh wave of attacks on civilians and security forces across the country.

A series of recent huge bombings killed more than 50 and injured hundreds more in Kabul.

The blasts caused huge concern among Afghan officials, with President Ashraf Ghani criticizing the neighboring Pakistan for its failure to rein in the militants.

Pakistan was supposed to mediate high-profile talks between Kabul and leaders of the Taliban but efforts hit a snag after Mullah Omar, the long-serving chief of the group, was pronounced dead by Afghan officials.