Взорвался склад бое-ов в Кабуле - диверсия или безалаберность? (+)
KABUL, July 11 (Reuters) - A big explosion at an arms depot rocked the outskirts of the Afghan capital Kabul overnight, residents said on Wednesday.
They said the blast occurred at an arsenal in a camp believed to be used by Chechen and Pakistani Islamic militants at the Taj Beg Palace on the city's southern outskirts.
"I was woken up suddenly by the explosion which sounded massive," a resident told Reuters.
There was no immediate word from the ruling Taliban movement about the cause of the blast or about casualties.
Some residents suspected the explosion was caused by a missile but there was no confirmation of that.
"Before the blast, I heard a whistling sound of a rocket for a few seconds," a witness living about 500 metres (yards) from the old palace in the Darulaman area told Reuters.
"After the bang, the sky was illuminated by the flames rising from the ground and then small explosions for a few minutes."
Witnesses said Taliban fighters sealed off roads leading to the palace.
One Taliban commander detained two local reporters working for international news agencies when they went to the site to investigate, a witness said.
There have been a series of explosions in Kabul and other Taliban-held areas since the hardline Islamic movement swept to power in 1996.
The Taliban have blamed the blasts on the northern-based opposition alliance. The opposition has denied the accusation.
((Islamabad newsroom (92-51) 227-4757; fax 227-4759))
