Bombing close to Russian embassy in Kabul kills 7

Afghan security forces remove a destroyed vehicle after a suicide attack near the Russian embassy in Kabul. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul)

KABUL, Afghanistan – A suicide car bomb attack close to the Russian embassy in the Afghan capital, Kabul, has killed at least seven people and wounded around 25 others, an Afghan official said Wednesday.

The police chief for Kabul, Gen. Abdul Rahman Rahimi, said the seven civilians included two women.

The attack targeted a bus owned by Afghanistan's biggest media organization, Moby Group. Moby owns the most popular television station, Tolo TV and a production company called Kaboora.

Rahimi said the attackers, driving a car packed with explosives, targeted a minibus belonging to Kaboora. Tolo TV confirmed in a live news broadcast that the bus was Kaboora's.

The bus was taking employees home from the company's office in central Kabul when the attack took place, at around 5 p.m. local time.

Rajab Noorzayi said his daughter Zeinab worked for Kaboora and was on the bus at the time of the attack. "I'm looking for her but the police say everyone has been taken to hospital," he said.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Taliban have threatened media organizations in the past and in October directly threatened Tolo TV and another popular station, 1TV, purportedly for unfavorable reporting.

The insurgents said at the time that the stations had broadcast reports about their activities during a siege of the northern city of Kunduz that they said were inaccurate, and threatened unspecified consequences. No one from Tolo TV was immediately available for comment.