Explosion reported near US Embassy in Kabul

A rocket exploded at the Afghan Defense Ministry complex near the US Embassy in Kabul on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks in the United States.*

No injuries were reported at both locations, according to the AP and AFP news agencies.

"A rocket hit a wall at the Defense Ministry, with no casualties reported," Interior Ministry spokesman Nosrat Rahimi said in a statement.

Inside the embassy, employees heard the following message over the loudspeaker: "An explosion caused by a rocket has occurred on compound."

"We can confirm there was an explosion near the US Embassy in Kabul," a State Department official said. "US mission personnel were not directly impacted by this explosion."

The blast comes on the 18th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the United States that ushered in the war in Afghanistan, and just after US President Donald Trump announced that peace talks with the Taliban were "dead."