Suicide bomber attacks Turkish embassy vehicle in Afghanistan, kills two

A suicide attack hit a Turkish diplomatic vehicle in the embassy quarter of Kabul on Thursday, killing two people, police said.

The blast came shortly after 8:00 am (0330 GMT), not far from the Iranian embassy. Police said the dead included a Turkish national and an Afghan passer-by.

"The target was a Turkish Embassy vehicle. One person is wounded and the driver possibly killed," Deputy Interior Minister Mohammad Ayub Salangi told media outside the Iranian Embassy.

The blast took place outside the gate of the embassy, which is adjacent to the Turkish mission in the center of Kabul.

The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack but said the Turkish convoy was not the intended target.

"The target was U.S. military convoy," Taliban purported spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said on his Twitter account.

Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Turkey's Minister of Foreign Affairs has stated that one Turkish national was martyred while another was wounded. He offered his condolences for the martyr, while he prayed for a speedy recovery of the victim who was wounded in the attack.

The Turkish General Staff has released a statement regarding the incident and stated that the attack has taken place on February 26, at 05:45 (EET).

"A car carrying explosives has attacked the vehicle of the protective force assigned to NATO's Senior Civilian Representative and ambassador İsmail Aramaz" the statement read, adding that a staff member of the Turkish Armed Forces has been martyred in the attack, while another staff was wounded.

Associated Press television footage showed two black armored vehicles bearing Turkish diplomatic plates and at least one wounded person being carried from a car.

Eyewitness Mohammad Yousuf, 17, described the moment the blast happened.

"The suicide bomber was in a Toyota sedan, he detonated himself causing a big bang, soon after the explosion everywhere were black smoke," he told AFP.

Insurgent attacks in the capital have been intermittent in recent months as winter has closed in, limiting access for militants who are believed to be based across the mountainous border in Pakistan.

The Afghan government hopes to open a dialogue with the Taliban's leadership in the near future, which could lead to peace talks in the coming year or two, officials and diplomats have said.

In the meantime, the insurgents are expected to intensify their attacks in order to enter any talks from a position of strength.