Kabul Suicide Attack: Car bomb near German embassy kills 80, injures over 300 in Afghanistan (Photos)

Scores of civilians have been killed after a massive explosion in a highly secure diplomatic area of Kabul left at least 80 people dead and wounded more than 360, the Afghan public health ministry has said.

Pictures have emerged showing a huge plume of smoke over the Afghan capital and people covered in blood near the scene of the suicide car bomb blast

The attack is the deadliest in the Afghan capital since an Isis suicide bomber killed nearly 100 people at a protest last summer, and one of the largest to hit the Afghan capital since the 2001 intervention.

The huge blast occurred close to the German embassy in the Wazir Akbar Khan area of the capital on Wednesday morning, sending clouds of black smoke spiralling into the sky near the presidential palace and foreign embassies. Meanwhile, the vast majority of casualties are expected to be civilians.

It took place at the peak of Kabul’s rush-hour when the streets were packed with commuters and just days into the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The target of the attack was not immediately known but Ismail Kawasi, spokesman of the public health ministry, said most of the casualties were civilians

Witnesses described dozens of cars choking the roads as wounded survivors and panicked schoolchildren sought safety, with people struggling to get through security checkpoints to search for loved ones.

Security forces inspect the site of a suicide attack where the German embassy is located in Kabul

No group has claimed responsibility but both the Taliban and Isis have staged large-scale attacks in the city. The Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, condemned the attack. “The terrorists, even in the holy month of Ramadan, the month of goodness, blessing and prayer, are not stopping the killing of our innocent people,” he said in a statement