A blast in central Kabul on Monday killed at least seven people and injured more than a dozen others, an NGO that runs a hospital in the Afghan capital said.
An AFP journalist saw emergency services at the scene following the explosion on a street known for its flower sellers in the Shahr-e-Naw area.
Italian NGO EMERGENCY said its hospital nearby had received "seven people dead on arrival", with 13 others admitted to the surgical department.
"Among the wounded are four women and a child," Dejan Panic, the NGO's country director, said in a statement.
Earlier, Chinese state media reported that one Afghan security guard was killed, and two Chinese nationals were injured in the blast.
"According to preliminary reports, several people were killed and injured," Interior Ministry spokesperson Abdul Mateen Qani told Reuters on Monday.
Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran said the blast targeted a hotel in the commercial Shahr-e-Naw neighbourhood, which includes large office buildings, shopping complexes, and embassies.
According to the Global Times, after the explosion struck the restaurant on Monday afternoon, the injured were taken to the hospital.
The area is considered one of the safest parts of Kabul.
No group has claimed responsibility for the blast.
The Taliban took control of the war-torn country in 2021 and said it would restore security, but attacks have continued, many of them claimed by the Daesh terror group.
