Afghanistan: Death toll of May 31 Kabul blast goes up to 150

The death toll from a devastating truck bomb in Kabul's diplomatic quarter last week has jumped to more than 150 people, President Ashraf Ghani told an international peace conference in the capital today.

"Over 150 innocent Afghan sons and daughters were killed and more than 300 wounded were brought to hospitals with burns and amputations," Ghani said. Previously officials had put the number of killed at 90.

Reports said the massive blast smashed windows of the buildings nearby and a huge plume of smoke could be seen spiralling over the high-security area.

Some damage to the windows of the Indian embassy building has also been reported.

"It was a car bomb near the German embassy, but there are several other important compounds and offices near there too. It is hard to say what the exact target is," said Basir Mujahid a spokesman for Kabul police.

It was one of the bloodiest weeks in Kabul for months, which began with the blasts. Following this, on June 2, five people were killed during clashes which broke out between protesters and police at a rally demanding the resignations of Ghani and Abdullah over repeated security failures.

On June 3, a series of blasts killed at least 19 people at a funeral for one of the victims of clashes.

Saturday's blasts shattered an uneasy calm which had descended after authorities blocked the streets of Kabul in a bid to prevent a repeat of the bloody confrontation between protesters and police on Friday.

"The country is under attack," Ghani said in a message on Twitter. "We must be strong and united."