Kabul (Agencies): At least 16 people lost their lives and 119 others were injured in a Taliban vehicle bomb late on Monday, officials said as emergency workers began cleanup operations.
Interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said the blast was caused by a tractor packed with explosives close to Green Village, a residential compound in eastern Kabul used by the foreign staff of international groups including aid organizations.
He said around 400 foreign nationals were evacuated from the heavily protected site, located off a major road in an area of houses and shops.
Armed attackers, who planned to follow up the blast, were killed by security forces, he said.
The blast, which shook buildings several kilometers away, came just as Zalmay Khalilzad, the special US envoy for peace in Afghanistan was outlining details of a draft accord with the insurgent movement in a television interview.
Following major Taliban attacks on two northern cities over the weekend, the bombing in a heavily populated area of the capital added to questions around the peace deal reached between US and Taliban negotiators in the Qatari capital Doha.