Attack at French Restaurant in Kabul Leaves 15 Injured

Three people including a child have been killed and at least 15 others have been injured after a suicide vehicle bombing targeted a Kabul restaurant popular with Afghan officials and foreign diplomats.

There are reports suggesting a restaurant popular with foreigners could be targeted in the explosion.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the Kabul attack or the Balkh siege but the Taliban have stepped up their attacks against Afghan security forces across the country.

The blast is the latest in a series of attacks around Afghanistan in recent weeks.

The latest talks were launched by Pakistani army chief General Raheel Sharif, who visited Kabul last week. Officials from Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States are scheduled to meet January 11 in Islamabad to begin discussing solutions to the conflict.

The attack came a day after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced a new effort to restart peace talks with the Taliban.

Afghan policemen carry a wounded man at the site of an explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Observers say the intensifying insurgency highlights a push by the militants to seize more territory in a bid to wrangle greater concessions during talks.

Residents in a house two blocks from the attack described a heavy blast that left several of their windows shattered on a night when temperatures were forecast to dip near freezing. “The fundamental issue here is the choice: choose peace or terrorism”, he said.

Speaking to reporters in Kabul, Waziri dismissed suggestions that Helmand could fall to the Taliban entirely, but he said government forces faced a serious battle against insurgents there.