Suicide car bomb attack rocks eastern Kabul

A massive suicide car bombing has struck the Afghan capital, Kabul, the third attack claimed by the Taliban in as many days in the country. 
An interior ministry spokesperson Nasrat Rahimi said the explosion on Monday night took place near the Green Village compound in eastern Kabul, home to several international organisations and aid agencies.
Kabul police spokesman Ferdaus Faramarz said the explosion appeared to have been a car bomb and that civilians were among the casualties, but did not give an exact figure.  
"Police have been deployed to the site and we are awaiting more information," Faramarz told media. 
At least 34 wounded people were taken to the nearby Wazir Akbar Khan hospital, Nezamudin Jalil, a public health ministry official said. 
Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said a coordinated attack with a suicide bomber and gunmen was under way. 
The explosion came just hours after US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad briefed the Afghan president on a deal "in principle" with the Taliban for ending America's longest war. 
Ahmad Qadir, a gatekeeper at a petrol station near the Green Village was on duty when he saw a flame and then heard the blast.
"After the explosion, we can now hear gunfire," he told media.
"It was a huge bang! Seems like a very big explosion," Naseer Ahmad, another Kabul resident, said.
The Green Village has been a frequent target of attacks.
Many foreigners live in the compound, which is heavily guarded by Afghan forces and private security guards.
The area was targeted by a suicide car bomber in January who killed at least four people and wounded dozens.
On Sunday, a second attack by the Taliban in as many days left several civilians and security forces dead.
Four civilians and two members of the security forces were killed in the attack on Puli Khumri, the capital of Baghlan province, with 20 civilians and two security forces wounded. At least 21 Taliban fighters were also dead, the interior ministry said.
A day earlier, hundreds of its fighters overran parts of Kunduz, a strategic city and the capital of the eponymous province that the group has twice come close to taking in recent years.
Meanwhile on Monday, attacks were also ongoing in the provinces of Kunduz, Takhar, Badakhshan, Balkh, Farah and Herat, according to Afghan local media. The Kabul-Baghlan and Baghlan-Kunduz highways were also blocked.
The escalating violence has overshadowed expectations over a peace deal between Taliban and the United States aimed at ending 18 years of war.