28 dead in Taliban attack on Kabul

At the scene: Afghan security officials inspecting the site of a suicide bomb blast that targeted the premises of the Defence Ministry in Kabul. — EPA

KABUL: At least 28 people were killed and hundreds wounded when a Taliban truck bomb tore through central Kabul, triggering a fierce firefight, a week after the insurgents launched their annual spring offensive.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a densely crowded neighbourhood, which sent clouds of acrid smoke billowing into the sky and rattled windows several kilometres away.