Car bomb in Afghan capital kills young girl, wounds 19

A suicide car bomb targeting a foreign forces convoy rocked eastern Kabul early on Friday, killing at least one civilian and wounding 19 in an area where many expatriates reside, the Afghan interior ministry said.

"Unfortunately around 9:00am (0430 GMT), a car bombing took place in (the) Qabil Bay area of Kabul," ministry spokesperson Najib Danish told AFP news agency, giving the toll and adding that police are investigating.

Another interior ministry spokesperson, Nasrat Rahimi, said that it was not clear if there were foreign casualties following the blast.

Bismillah Tabaan, the police commander of the city's ninth district where the explosion took place, said the cause of the blast was a suicide bombing but details, including the target, were not yet clear.

Earlier, Danish said that a vehicle of a contractor for the NATO forces was the apparent target.

Local media showed extensive damage to the facades of nearby houses, and witnesses reported a strong explosion.

No immediate claim

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest blast.

Similar attacks in the past have been claimed both by the Taliban and by pro-Daesh armed groups.

Kabul has recently seen a spate of large-scale militant attacks by the Taliban and also Daesh, whose affiliate in Afghanistan has grown stronger since it emerged in 2014.

The attack came two days after President Ashraf Ghani offered to start peace talks with the Taliban and just over a month after an explosives-packed ambulance was detonated in the city centre, killing around 100 people.