A huge explosion has been reported near a guest house in Kabul housing foreign contractors, including Americans.
Police say the explosion was felt throughout Kabul and knocked out power across much of the city.
Gen. Abdul Rahman Rahimi, Kabul police chief, told reporters that a suicide bomber blew up his explosives filled Mazda truck outside one of the security walls of North Gate hotel around 1:30 AM. Two other attackers tried to enter the hotel but police deployed in the area fired on them forcing them to take shelter in a nearby compound.
It took the police several hours to finally kill them both. One policeman was also killed and three others wounded in the exchange of fire.
It is unclear what cased the blast.
The Taliban claims it set off a truck bomb inside the complex and caused a large number of casualties.
An unidentified person who answered a telephone at the hotel said all guests are accounted for.
The Taliban frequently exaggerates claims.
