Explosion heard in central Kabul, smoke seen near US embassy: witnesses

KABUL: An explosion rocked central Kabul early on Tuesday and a thick plume of black smoke could be seen rising from the vicinity of the sprawling US embassy in the Afghan capital, Reuters witnesses said, but there was no immediate report of casualties.

Warning sirens blared out from the embassy compound, which is also close to the headquarters of the main NATO-led mission in Afghanistan.

There was no indication of the source of the blast, but rocket attacks remain relatively common in the city. The US embassy said they were not affected by the blast. The NATO military coalition also said they were unaffected.