Kabul, January 18: A massive explosion shook Kabul on Monday as fighting between Taliban militants and security forces raged in the centre of the Afghan capital, witnesses said.
The explosion at 11:20am (0650 GMT) came amid a wave of gun and bomb attacks and clashes between Taliban-linked militants and security forces that has closed the centre of the city.
Afghanistan’s health ministry said Monday that 13 people, most of them civilians, have been wounded in fighting in the centre of the city between militants and government forces.
Two armed insurgents were killed by Afghan security forces after Taliban launched a wave of attacks in Kabul on Monday, NATO said in a statement.
NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said that Afghan security forces had secured roads in central Kabul as Taliban militants took over buildings in the political and commercial heart of the city.
“Initial reports are they have killed at least two armed insurgents at the shopping centre after clearing the building,” the ISAF statement said.
Automatic weapons fire and explosions have brought central Kabul to a standstill as Afghan police and military snipers take up positions on buildings around the central Pashtunistan Square.
At least two shopping malls have been blown up, possibly by suicide bombers, according to television reports.
The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, with a spokesman saying that 20 suicide bombers had been sent into Kabul to lay siege to government buildings, including the presidential palace.
Television showed a shopping mall in the centre of city — believed to have been taken over by the militants — burning and billowing smoke, as security forces took cover behind military vehicles.
Gunfire continued to ring out over the city — deserted but for the heavy presence of police and army, television picture showed and witnesses said.
-Agencies