Seven killed, 320 wounded as Taliban bomber attacks security office in Kabul

KABUL: At least seven people have been killed and more than 320 wounded in a suicide bombing and attack by gunmen, claimed by the Taliban, in the Afghan capital on Tuesday, the Health Ministry said.

Civilians and members of the Afghan security forces were among those caught in the attack and casualty estimates are expected to rise, ministry spokesman Ismail Kawosi said by telephone.

The attack was aimed at a building that houses a security service that provides protection for government officials.

President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack "in the strongest possible terms" in a statement from the presidential palace, only a few hundred metres away from the scene of the blast.

Several people were killed and wounded in the blast, which struck at the height of the morning peak hour, the palace said.

Gunfire rang out for more than 30 minutes after the blast, according to Reuters witnesses at the scene.

Pictures showed windows blown out at the front of an office that houses a National Directorate of Security (NDS) unit.

The U.S. embassy said it was not affected by the blast.

The NATO-led force also said it was unaffected. 

The Taliban said on their Pashto-language website that they had carried out the suicide bombing on "Department 10", an NDS unit, which is responsible for protecting government ministers and VIPs.

They said a suicide car bomber blew up the main gate at the front of the office, allowing other fighters, including more suicide bombers, to enter the heavily guarded compound.

A separate statement by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said attackers were engaged in a gunbattle with Afghan security forces inside the building.

It was not immediately possible to verify the details of the Taliban's claim with government officials.

Fighting has raged around the symbolically important northern city of Kunduz in the week since the Taliban announced their annual spring offensive, although the capital has been relatively quiet since the April 12 announcement.

Kunduz, Afghanistan´s fifth-largest city, fell briefly to the Taliban last September in the biggest blow to Ghani's government since NATO-led forces ended their combat operations at the end of 2014.

The Taliban-led insurgency has gained strength since the withdrawal of international forces from combat at the end of 2014 and the Taliban are stronger than at any point since they were driven from power by U.S.-backed forces in 2001.