Afghan intelligence service convoy hit by an explosion in Kabul

Four people were killed and two Nato force members were injured after a Taliban suicide bomber detonated next to a convoy of Afghanistan's top intelligence officers in Kabul on Tuesday morning, reports say.

At least four more wounded were in the blast, which hit the National Directorate for Security convoy as it was returning from an overnight operation in the Paghman district of Kabul, located in the northwest of the country's capital.

"At this time Resolute Support is saying we have two injured coalition force members from the IED blast in Kabul," a Resolute Support spokesperson told The National. The spokesperson could not say the injured Nato force member's nationality.

The explosion was thought to be caused by a suicide bomber, but other reports say it was caused by a car bomb. The Resolute Support spokesperson said the blast was caused by an IED

"It is still not clear whether the attacker was on foot or driving a vehicle," interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish added.

There are also reports of high civilian casualties

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The area is reportedly closed to traffic and helicopters have landed. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

Last month, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced a roadmap to peace between the Afghan government and the Taliban, hoping to end the 17-year conflict.

Attacks on Afghan forces by the Taliban and the Islamic State group have been inflicting record-high casualties on security personnel this year.

Afghan security forces, beset by killings and desertions, have been struggling to beat back insurgents since US-led Nato mostly left them on their own three years ago.

In November President Ashraf Ghani said nearly 30,000 Afghan soldiers and police officers have been killed since 2015, a figure far higher than anything previously acknowledged.

The early morning attack in Kabul came just hours after an overnight assault on a checkpoint in Arghistan district of southern Kandahar province by Taliban fighters killed at least eight Afghan police officers according to the provincial media office.

"The fighting lasted several hours, eleven Taliban were also killed," the office added.