A suicide bomb attack outside the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul has resulted in heavy casualties.
Police said at least five civilians had been killed, but another Taliban official put the death toll at 20.
The local branch of the Islamic State group, known as Isis-K, claimed responsibility for the attack.
This comes after recent explosions targeting foreign interests. There are embassies of many countries including Turkey and China in this area.
The Taliban said the attack took place at around 16:00 local time (11:30 GMT) when the bomber tried but failed to enter the ministry building.
Jamshed Karimi, a driver waiting outside the ministry, said, “I saw the man blowing himself up.”
Mr Karimi told JEE News he saw a man with a bag and a rifle slung over his shoulder. “He drove past my car and after a few seconds there was a loud explosion.”
Apparently, the building was not badly damaged. The windows of the nearby Ministry of Interior were also broken by the explosion.
But the Italian humanitarian agency, an emergency NGO in Kabul, said it had more than 40 wounded and the death toll was rising.
Kabul Police called the attack cowardly and added in a statement that the culprits will be held accountable.
Isis-K said in a post on Telegram that at least 20 people were killed in the blast. It also said that “several ‘diplomatic’ employees” were among the dead, a claim that could not be independently verified.
Earlier reports said that the Chinese delegation was about to hold talks with Afghan officials inside the Foreign Ministry building at the time of the attack.
But a senior official in the prime minister’s office told JEE News that no foreigners were present.
A series of attacks in recent months have targeted foreigners or foreign interests, at a time when the Taliban are trying to attract investment from neighboring countries.
Since the Taliban seized power last year, Afghanistan has been rocked by dozens of bombings, most of which have been claimed by Isis-K.
Correspondents say the Taliban downplays the death toll in such incidents.
