Kabul car bomb kills 80 people close to major embassies

At least 80 people have been killed in Afghanistan capital Kabul after a car bomb exploded in the city’s diplomatic quarter on Wednesday.

The massive blast hit near Zanbaq square, in close proximity to the British and German embassies in the city.

The attack took place during the morning rush-hour and reports said buildings were damaged hundreds of metres away from the point of the explosion.

Large clouds of black smoke were seen across Kabul on Wednesday following the attack, whose victims are widely reported to consist mainly of civilians.

It is the largest attack to take place in the Afghan capital since almost 100 people were killed by an Isis suicide bomb last year. No organisation has taken responsibility for the car bomb as of yet.

The attack comes just days into the Muslim festival of Ramadan, with the streets packed when the bomb went off at around 08:25 local time.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said he "strongly condemned the cowardly attack in the holy month of Ramadan targeting innocent civilians in their daily life".