Four killed, 44 wounded in Kabul car bomb attack: officials

Kabul: A car bomb exploded near a heavily fortified foreign compound in Kabul on Monday, killing at least four people and wounding 44, officials said, in the latest attack to rock the Afghan capital.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the huge blast, which shook the city, but it comes as diplomatic efforts to end the 17-year war with the Taliban gather pace.

Militants targeted Green Village, located near a busy road in the east of the city and where some foreign workers are based, said interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish.

At least 10 children were among the wounded, he added.

Until recently some United Nations´ staff had lived and worked at the highly secure compound, but Danish said the area was now largely empty and "only a number of guards" were left.

"Residential houses nearby have sustained heavy damage," Danish said.

"Special police forces´ units have been deployed to the site to check if there are more attackers."

The explosion happened in the early evening when traffic is normally heavy.

The last assault on a foreign compound was in late November when a Taliban-claimed vehicle bomb exploded outside the compound of British security firm G4S, killing at least 10 people.

Five G4S employees were among the dead.

That was followed by a suicide and gun attack on a government compound in Kabul on December 24 that killed at least 43 people, making it one of the deadliest assaults on the city last year.