Taliban claim responsiblity for blast on Jalalabad road near US military bases and western compounds
Six people have been killed in an early-morning suicide attack in Kabul just after Barack Obama flew out of Afghanistan, according to government officials in Afghanistan.
Explosions and gunfire rang out in the east of the capital around 6am near a private armed compound that houses hundreds of international workers. A few hours earlier, the US president had been visiting US troops to mark the anniversary of Osama bin Laden's death.
Shooting continued for hours afterwards, and it was unclear whether the attack was finished as another large explosion sounded at about 8am. Officials gave varying death tolls and accounts of the events.
One of the first blasts was a suicide car bomb that exploded near Jalalabad road, one of the main thoroughfares out of the city, said an interior ministry spokesman, Sediq Sediqi. A vehicle driving past was caught up in the explosion and four people inside were killed, Sediqi said, along with a passerby and a security guard at a nearby building.
A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said the group had carried out the attack.
The fighting appeared to be centred around the secure residential area known as the Green Village but it was unclear whether the heavily guarded compound was the target. Smoke rose from the area as flames licked the outside of a burning car.
Near the site of the blasts, men could be seen carrying a wounded man covered with blood. He had apparently been pulled out of the flames engulfing the nearby car.
"These people evacuated a man from the burning car. Two bodies are lying there now and three or four other victims were evacuated from the school," said Ahmad Zia, a resident who saw the explosion.
Nato said it was aware of several explosions.
A US embassy warning system urged staff to stay away from windows and take cover after the explosion. The embassy is in the main diplomatic area in the centre of the city.