Kabul hospital receives patients after blast heard near Afghan foreign ministry

People gather to check on missing relatives a day after a twin suicide bombs attack, which killed scores of people outside Kabul airport, at a hospital run by Italian NGO Emergency in Kabul, Afghanistan, on August 27, 2021. (AFP/File)

• Two witnesses said they heard the explosion near the heavily fortified area
• The vicinity is home to several government buildings and foreign embassies

KABUL: A hospital in downtown Kabul received several wounded patients after an explosion was heard near the Afghan ministry of foreign affairs, the country director of an Italian NGO said on Wednesday. 

"We received some patients," said Stefano Sozza of Italian NGO Emergency, which runs the hospital specializing in treating victims of war in downtown Kabul. 

He said the incident took place near the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is in the area. 

Two witnesses told Reuters they had heard the sound of a large explosion near the heavily fortified area that is home to several government buildings and foreign embassies. 

Spokespeople for police, the information ministry and the ministry of foreign affairs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.