At least 40 people have been killed after a series of blasts targeted a gathering at a cultural center in western Kabul on Thursday, an official confirmed.

Nasrat Rahimi, a spokesman for the Afghan interior ministry, said 30 others were wounded after a suicide bomber blew himself up inside the building where the gathering was taking place.

Two other blasts took place outside the building as people were gathering to help, Rahimi said.

In a tweet, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied the group's involvement in the attack.

In an online statement, Daesh terrorist group claimed responsibility for the suicide attack, which came days after a suicide bomber killed six civilians in an assault near an Afghan intelligence agency compound in the city, again claimed by Daesh.

"There were two explosions. We still do not know the target of the attack, but Afghan Voice Agency is in the area of the attack," interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said.

AFP reporters near the scene of the blast heard a third explosion, suggesting the attack may still be underway.

A hospital official told local TV that 18 wounded had been brought to his facility.

"Five of the wounded are in critical condition and our doctors are working to save their lives," Sabir Nasib, head of Istiqlal hospital, said.

A man in the vicinity of the attack said he heard a "big boom."

"We do not know the numbers [of casualties]. When the explosion happened we immediately fled," he told Tolo News.

Photos posted on Afghan Voice Agency's Facebook page showed the inside of a compound with debris and bodies lying on the ground.

Afghan media has previously been targeted by militants, underlying the risks faced by journalists in the war-torn country.

Daesh terrorist group claimed Monday's attack on the National Directorate of Security spy agency in a statement via their Amaq propaganda arm.

It was the latest claimed assault by the terrorist group in Kabul, which in recent months has become one of the deadliest places in the war-torn country for civilians.

Security in the city has been ramped up since May 31 when a massive truck bomb ripped through the diplomatic quarter, killing some 150 people and wounding around 400 others -- mostly civilians.

Daesh has expanded its presence in Afghanistan since it first appeared in the region in 2015.

It has scaled up its attacks in Kabul, including on security installations and the country's Shiite minority.

In a statement released on Thursday, Turkish Foreign Ministry condemned the attack. "We learned with deep sorrow that a terrorist attack perpetrated today at a cultural center in Kabul killed and wounded many Afghan brothers and sisters," said a Foreign Ministry statement.

The statement also wished a "speedy recovery to the wounded," and sent "condolences to the brotherly Government and people of Afghanistan."