Twin suicide blasts rock Kabul

Two large explosions rocked the Afghan capital Kabul near a hotel popular with Westerners and the home of the vice president in what police said was a double suicide attack. "There have been two suicide explosions. My boys are engaged I will give more information later," Kabul police chief Ayub Salangi said after an AFP reporter and witnesses reported hearing blasts and gunfire. The AFP reporter heard two explosions within about 10 minutes of each other around 5:45 am (0115 GMT) on Friday and sporadic gunfire. The attack happened near the Intercontinental Hotel and the heavily-secured home of Afghanistan's First Vice President Mohammad Qasim Fahim. At the scene was the burning wreckage of a car that had rammed into the wall of an office and exploded. There were ambulances on hand and helicopters overhead, an AFP reporter said. An interior ministry spokesman, Siddiq Siddiqui, said initial information was that there had been two blasts in the Karte Parwan area, probably suicide attacks. Friday is a public holiday in Afghanistan marking independence from the British in 1919.