“According to preliminary reports, a number of people were killed and injured,” Interior Ministry spokesperson Abdul Mateen Qani told Reuters.

Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran said the blast targeted a hotel in the commercial Shahr-e-Naw neighbourhood that includes large office buildings, shopping complexes and embassies.

The area is considered one of the safest parts of Kabul.

No group has claimed responsibility for the blast.

The Taliban took control of the war-torn country in 2021 and said it would restore security, but attacks have continued, many of them claimed by the local arm of the militant Daesh group.