Several killed in Kabul blast, Afghanistan’s Interior Ministry says

Explosion occurred in the Shahr-e-Naw neighbourhood, ⁠thought to be one of the most secure areas ‌in Kabul.Published On 19 Jan 2026Several ‍people ‍have been killed in a blast in ⁠Afghanistan’s Kabul, ​the Taliban’s Interior ‍Ministry has said.The explosion occurred on Monday in the Shahr-e-Naw area of the capital, which is home ‌to foreigners and ⁠thought to be one of the most secure areas ‌in Kabul.“According to preliminary reports, ‍a ⁠number of people were killed and injured,” Interior Ministry spokesperson Abdul Mateen Qani told ​the Reuters news agency, ‌adding that more details would be released later.The Italian NGO, EMERGENCY, said that a medical facility it oversees in Kabul had received 20 people from the blast, seven of whom were dead when they arrived. The organisation that the casualty figures were “still provisional”.“Twenty people have been received at EMERGENCY’s Surgical Centre in Kabul following an explosion this afternoon in the Shahr-e-Naw area, near the hospital. Among those received were seven people dead on arrival,” the NGO said in a statement.Videos shared by the Afghan news service Tolo News show a street littered with debris and dust in the aftermath of the attack.Blasts in Kabul, and across Afghanistan, are rarer since the Taliban returned to power following the United States withdrawal in 2021, but ISIL (ISIS) affiliates are still active in the country and carry out sporadic attacks.In 2025, Afghanistan faced two suicide attacks.