Afghan security officials inspect the scene of a suicide bomb attack that targeted a vehicle of the British embassy in Kabul on Thursday.   

AFP/Kabul

A large blast rocked Kabul on Thursday evening, followed by gunfire in the Afghan capital's central district that houses many embassies and foreign compounds, AFP journalists reported.

Police were unable to give immediate details on the latest attack, which appeared to be ongoing as sporadic gunfire erupted.

Earlier in the day, a suicide bomber rammed his explosives-packed car into a British embassy vehicle in Kabul on Thursday, killing one Briton and five Afghans in the latest attack to highlight fragile security as NATO troops withdraw.

A British security contractor and an Afghan employee of the embassy died in the blast, which hit their vehicle on a stretch of road notorious for suicide attacks.

At least four Afghan bystanders were also killed, and more than 30 others were injured.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond condemned the "senseless and cowardly" attack.

"It reminds us once again of the risks our personnel take every day to keep trying to help Afghans build a better future - and by helping them do so, protect our own security and own interests," he told a press conference in Rome.

"We highly value their work, and we are extremely grateful to them."

A second British contractor with security firm G4S was injured in the bombing, which threw the embassy's 4x4 vehicle onto its side.

The roof was blown off and car parts scattered across the Jalalabad road, a main route where many fortified foreign compounds and military facilities are located.

It has often been the scene of insurgent strikes, and attacks across the city have increased in recent weeks.

At least seven blasts have hit Kabul over the last 10 days, including attacks on foreign compounds and on a female Afghan MP who was injured in a suicide bombing that targeted her car.

The Taliban said they were behind Thursday's blast in a message on a recognised Twitter account.

At the site, an AFP reporter saw one badly-shaken foreign passenger talking to Afghan police, asking after his colleagues.

A nearby policeman said that passengers covered in blood had been taken to hospital.

"The report we have received from Kabul hospitals show five killed and 34 wounded in today's attack," Kenishka Turkistani, spokesman for the ministry of public health, told AFP.

"The wounded include five children. We don't record foreign casualties."

Attacks across Kabul have increased in recent weeks as US-led NATO forces prepare to wrap up their 13-year combat mission against the Taliban at the end of this year.

At least eight blasts have hit Kabul over the last 10 days, including attacks on foreign compounds and on a female Afghan member of parliament who was injured in a suicide bombing that targeted her car.

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