Blast at a hotel in downtown Kabul leaves multiple casualties, officials say

KABUL, Afghanistan — An explosion at a hotel in downtown Kabul on Monday left a number of people killed and injured, officials said.

The cause of the blast was unclear.

Spokesman Khalid Zadran said the explosion struck at a hotel in the Shahr-e-Naw district, causing a number of casualties. Interior Ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said the blast had caused both deaths and injuries, and that the cause was being investigated. Neither had details on the number of casualties.

Footage aired by local television station Tolo News and filmed through a car windscreen showed people in a street with smoke and dust billowing behind them.