Kabul blast: All Indians are safe, says Sushma Swaraj

New Delhi: Minister of External affairs Sushma Swaraj said on Tuesday that all Indians were safe in Kabul.

"I have spoken to Indian Ambassador. He has informed me that all Indians there are safe," she tweeted.

#KabulBlast - I have spoken to Indian Ambassador Shri @VohraManpreet. He has informed me that all Indians there are safe. @IndianEmbKabul — Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) October 31, 2017

A suicide bomber in the Afghan capital Kabul killed many and wounded several others, most of whom appeared to be workers leaving their offices at the start of the evening rush hour.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack in Wazir Akbar Khan, a heavily fortified area of the city which houses numerous foreign embassies and government buildings.

The target of the attack was not immediately clear but as well as foreign embassies, the area contains a defence ministry department dealing with foreign relations and several private businesses, including a barber and a travel agency.

The explosion came at a time of heightened security in Kabul following a series of attacks in October, including one on a Shi`ite mosque in the city that killed more than 50 people and a separate attack on an army training facility that killed at least 15 soldiers.

Security had already been stepped up considerably following a devastating truck bomb attack outside the German embassy on May 31 that killed at least 150 people, with a series of barriers and checkpoints across the central area of the city.

(With Reuters inputs)