A loud explosion has rocked the Afghan capital, spewing out a huge cloud of black smoke shortly before a major conference on tackling corruption was to begin, AFP reporters say.
Ambulances were seen rushing from the scene of the blast in the upmarket district of Wazir Akhbar Khan, home to many foreign embassies and aid groups.
An interior ministry official said the cause of the blast was not immediately clear.
The blast occurred shortly before 10am (1630 AEDT) as lawmakers, government officials and foreign ambassadors gathered for the conference on efforts to crack down on endemic corruption in Afghanistan.
On Monday, the top US military officer held talks in Kabul on a US surge of 30,000 troops scheduled to start arriving this week, warning that violence in the war-torn country was likely to get worse before it gets better.
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/984086/explosion-rocks-afghan-capital