Double suicide blasts kill eight in Kabul

A double suicide attack hit a government office in Kabul on Wednesday, killing at least eight people, as another bomber was shot dead at the education ministry, police and witnesses said.

The extremist Taliban movement claimed responsibility for the attacks in telephone calls to media, warning of several more in the Afghan capital.

The double blast targeted the prison directorate in the north of the city, said an AFP reporter at the scene.

"There are lots of dead," a police official said on condition of anonymity.

"At least eight people must have been killed," another police official, said, also on condition of anonymity. An AFP reporter saw at least four people who appeared to be dead and several wounded and bloodied policemen.

"There were two suicide attackers," a civilian witness said. "One opened fire at the main gate guard and police fired back. Then all of a sudden, he detonated.

"The second one had already made his way to the front entrance and then he detonated." The area was splashed with blood and body parts, the reporter said.

The windows of the five-storey building were shattered and the entrance where the second attacker struck was completely destroyed.

Officials could not immediately confirm the death toll or say what happened but the other incident, a suicide bomber was shot and killed outside the education ministry.

"Another suicide attacker in front of the ministry of education was shot and killed," an Interior Ministry official said. "His explosives detonated but it has not caused casualties."

A spokesman for the Taliban was quoted on Afghan television saying that seven attackers had entered the city and were targeting various government offices.

Security groups issued warnings for people to be vigilant and stay in their compounds.

Kabul has seen several attacks as part of a Taliban-led insurgency that sees most violence in southern and eastern Afghanistan.