KABUL: A car bomb explosion followed by several blasts and rapid gunfire rocked the Afghan capital on Tuesday, not far from the heavily fortified Green Zone that houses several embassies, including the US mission.

The car bomb blew up in central Kabul late in the evening, sending a thick plume of smoke into the sky.

A security official said the explosion happened near Defence Minister Bismillah Mohammadi’s residence, not far from the Green Zone.

“Do not worry, everything is fine,” Mohammadi tweeted after the blast.

Less than two hours after the car bomb detonated, another loud blast followed by smaller explosions and rapid gunfire again shook Kabul, in what appeared to be the same area of the city.

Another security source said several attackers had stormed a lawmaker’s house after setting off the car bomb and were also shooting at the residence of the defence minister from there.

“Several lawmakers were meeting at the house of this MP to make a plan to counter the Taliban offensive,” the source said.

A third Afghan security official said there “were fatalities” in the incident, but could not offer more details.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2021