Suicide bomber and gunmen hit Kabul charity

At least one person has been killed in an attack on the offices of an international charity in the centre of the Afghan capital, Kabul.

A police spokesman told international media that six other people were wounded, and that 31 people have been rescued from the building.

A suicide bomber targeted the humanitarian organisation Care International in the Shar-e-Naw area, followed by gunmen that stormed the building, Tolo News TV reported.

According to officials, the suicide bomber detonated the car bomb at the gate of the compound.

Police were exchanging fire with the attackers, Tolo New TV added.

Fraidoon Obaidi, chief of the Kabul police Criminal Investigation Department, said one of the two gunmen who had entered an office of Care International in Kabul had been killed but another was holding out, according to Reuters.

The BBC reported that traffic was blocked in several parts of the city and schools were closed.

The attack came hours after a series of blasts near the defence ,inistry killed at least 24 people, including a number of senior security officials, and nearly 100 others wounded.

An army general and two senior police officers were among the dead from those attacks, a ministry of defence spokesperson said.

The Taliban, who have carried out frequent attacks in Kabul, claimed responsibility for the blasts.