PTI
Kabul
Bloodied corpses littered the scene and a huge cloud of smoke rose from the highly-fortified area which houses foreign embassies, after the rush-hour attack tore a massive crater in the ground and blew out windows several miles away.
No group has so far claimed the powerful blast, which officials said was caused by 1,500 kilogrammes of explosives hidden inside a sewage tanker, in what appeared to be a major intelligence failure.
Afghanistan’s intelligence agency blamed the Taliban-allied Haqqani Network for the attack.
The Taliban -- currently in the midst of their annual “spring offensive” -- denied they were involved, while strongly condemning the blast. The insurgent group rarely claims responsibility for attacks that kill large numbers of civilians.
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for several recent bombings in the Afghan capital, including a powerful blast targeting a NATO convoy that killed eight people earlier this month.
Rescue workers were digging bodies from the rubble hours after the explosion, many of them disfigured and charred, as anguished residents searched for missing relatives.
Dozens of mangled and upturned cars choked the roads as wounded survivors and panicked schoolgirls scrambled to safety.
The attack underscores spiralling insecurity in Afghanistan, where the NATO-backed military, beset by soaring casualties and desertions, is struggling to beat back insurgents.
INTELLIGENCE FAILURE
Massive truck bomb ripped through Kabul’s diplomatic quarter
1,500 kgs of explosives were hidden inside a
sewage tanker
Afghanistan’s intelligence agency blamed the Taliban-allied Haqqani Network
400 wounded, including many women and children
No Indians affected
