Blast in Kabul near US embassy, two injured

An Afghan official says at least two people have been wounded in a bombing that targeted the Afghan military in the capital, Kabul.

Monday’s attack took place at a main square near the US embassy and the country's Supreme Court.

Faredoon Obiadi, chief of the police’s criminal investigations department, said an army officer was one of the two wounded.

He said a so-called sticky bomb was attached to a military vehicle that caused the explosion. No group has claimed responsibility for the bombing, but the Taliban have stepped up attacks across Afghanistan.

Separately, authorities on Monday confirmed the Taliban have overrun a police headquarters in the Dahna-e-Ghori district in northern Baghlan province.

There was no immediate word on casualties in Baghlan. The Taliban are claiming they killed and captured “many” policemen. Fighting has escalated in Afghanistan as the Taliban insurgency spreads from its traditional strongholds in the south and east of the country to once peaceful regions in the north. Despite air support from US and Afghan warplanes, government troops are struggling against the resilient Taliban, with senior government officials saying the insurgents are becoming better trained and equipped.

Amir Gul Hussainkhil, deputy police chief of Baghlan, said Dahan-e-Ghori district was under siege for days and the Taliban managed to seize it late on Sunday as dozens of Afghan forces made “a tactical retreat”.