1st LD: Explosion rocks Afghan capital: witness

An explosion rocked downtown Afghan capital of Kabul on Saturday afternoon, with feared casualties, sources and witnesses said.

"The big bang was heard roughly at 03:20 p.m. local time (1050GMT) and caused panic among the people. The blast occurred near Pul-e-Mahmoud Khan locality, close to the defense ministry compound," witness Zafar Khan told Xinhua.

"We still cannot provide details on causalities. There is fear of possible causalities, the nature of the blast looked like suicide car bombing," a security source told Xinhua.

Unofficial source said the bomb attack targeted a defense ministry vehicle.

Government troops cordoned off the area shortly after the blast, keeping people from gathering at the scene for fears that there might be a second blast.

The blast caused a plume of grey smoke to rise above the scene.

More details would be made public later as investigation is going on, the source added.

No group has claimed responsibility yet for the attack, but the Taliban insurgent group routinely claims responsibility for such attacks.

Earlier on the day, 11 people and the suicide bomber were killed and 40 others wounded in a suicide bombing in eastern Kunar province. Enditem