A blast rocked the Afghan capital on Friday (September 23) afternoon, according to the interior ministry, after a loud explosion was heard in a heavily fortified central part of the city, Reuters reports.
It was not immediately clear who or what was behind the explosion which was confirmed by interior ministry spokesperson Bismulah Habib.
Footage released via local broadcaster Tolo TV’s official English language Twitter account showed plumes of smoke rising from an area it identified as being near Kabul’s Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan Mosque.
"According to initial reports, the explosion occurred when the worshipers were leaving the mosque," Tolo TV said in the same Twitter post.
A Reuters witness heard the blast around the time of afternoon prayers in Wazir Akbar Khan, an area of the capital once home to the city's 'green zone', where many foreign embassies and NATO were based and is now controlled by the ruling Taliban.
Several deadly blasts have taken place at mosques during Friday prayers in recent months, some of which have been claimed by Islamic State.
