Blast at Afghan news agency office in Kabul, at least four dead

Photographs sent by witnesses showed what appeared to be serious damage at the site and a number of dead and wounded on the ground.

Public Health Ministry spokesman Ismail Kawosi said at least four people had been killed and 18 wounded.

However, the final toll may be higher, according to witnesses who said there were heavy casualties among students attending a panel discussion with researchers at the agency’s offices.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The attack, the latest in a series to hit Afghan media groups in recent years, follows an attack on a private television station in Kabul last month.

According to a report this month by media freedom group Reporters without Borders, Afghanistan is among the world’s most dangerous countries for media workers with two journalists and five media assistants killed doing their jobs in 2017.