A suicide car bomber struck central Kabul on Tuesday, killing 8 and wounding 40 others, officials said. The mid-morning blast damaged a hotel in Kabul's Wazir Akbar Khan district, where a number of embassies and foreign offices are located. Most of the victims are civilians. The hotel, Heetal, is owned by the son of Burhanuddin Rabbani, who served as president of Afghanistan from 1992 until 1996. 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. Afghan security forces have cordoned off the area.
Blast in Gardez
At least five people were killed in a bomb explosion in the eastern Paktia province on Tuesday. A Nepalese citizen and a woman are among the dead, a spokesman for the provincial governor said. No groups, including the Taliban, have claimed responsibility for the attack.