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Large blast, gunfire in center of Afghan capital US-AFGHANISTAN-BLAST:Large blast, gunfire in center of Afghan capital

KABUL (Reuters) - A large blast rocked the centre of the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Wednesday, near heavily barricaded government buildings and Western embassies.

The explosion took place at noon (07:30 GMT), Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi told the privately owned Tolo television.

Gunfire and sirens were heard shortly after the blast. It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.

The explosion came just days after President Hamid Karzai returned from a trip to Washington, where he discussed the country's future with U.S. President Barack Obama once most NATO-led troops withdraw as planned by the end of 2014.

(Reporting by Hamid Shalizi, writing by Amie Ferris-Rotman; Editing by Nick Macfie)

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Related Keywords:US , AFGHANISTAN , BLAST

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