Car bomb explodes near Indian embassy in Kabul, 40 killed or wounded

At least 40 people were killed or wounded in a powerful blast in Kabul's diplomatic quarter on Wednesday, an interior ministry spokesman said.

The blast rocked Kabul's high-security diplomatic area where the Indian embassy is located but all staffers at the Indian mission were said to be safe.

The spokesman, Najib Danish, said he was unable to give a breakdown of the toll.

A health ministry spokesman said more than 60 wounded people, mainly civilians, had been rushed to Kabul hospitals, adding: "We don't know the number of killed yet".

Reports said the massive blast smashed windows of the buildings nearby and a huge plume of smoke could be seen spiralling over the high-security area.

Several people were killed and wounded in the blast near the fortified entrance to the German embassy, said Basir Mujahid a spokesman for Kabul police.

Official sources at the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi said that all staff at the Indian embassy were safe.

But some damage to the windows of the embassy building has been reported, they added.

"It was a car bomb near the German embassy, but there are several other important compounds and offices near there too. It is hard to say what the exact target is," Mujahid said.

The explosion shattered windows and blew doors off their hinges in houses hundreds of metres (yards) away.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast. A spokesman for Taliban insurgents said he was gathering information.