Deadly explosion hits Kabul near US embassy

Kabul was rocked by a suicide bomb explosion on Tuesday morning in a busy shopping street near the US embassy, officials said.

At least five people died in the blast and nine people were injured, officials told local media outlets and the Associated Press.

"An explosion has happened near Massoud Square in Kabul. We have no more details yet," Najib Danish, a spokesman for Afghanistan's interior ministry, told AFP news agency.

Read more: German intelligence knew Kabul embassy truck bomb was imminent

A ministry official said the blast happened outside a bank as security forces personnel were due to collect their salaries ahead of this week's Eid holiday. The street where the bomb hit is lined with banks and shops leading to the busy Massoud Square.

Officials said the explosion was caused by a suicide bomber. Local news outlets shared videos of soldiers and ambulances on the scene.

The explosion came just one week after US President Donald Trump committed American soldiers to Afghanistan indefinitely.Last week, at least 28 people were killed and more than 50 people were injured after gunmen dressed as police stormed a Shiite mosque. The attack was claimed by the so-called "Islamic State" and condemned by the Taliban.

In May, a massive truck bomb targeting the German embassy killed about 150 people and wounded about 400 others.

Read more: Has Trump's Afghanistan policy destablized South Asia even more?

aw/rt (AP, AFP, Reuters)