A huge car bomb blast rocked a crowded area of Kabul on Saturday, leaving at least 18 people wounded, an official said, in the latest apparent attack in the Afghan capital.

“So far 18 wounded civilians have been brought to Kabul hospitals,” health ministry spokesman Waheed Majroh told AFP.

AFP reporters heard a loud explosion that shook the windows of their compound, and photos shared on social media purportedly of the blast showed a huge plume of smoke rising into the sky.

The explosion happened in a crowded part of the city where the interior ministry, the European Union and the High Peace Council have offices. Kabul police headquarters is also in the vicinity of the blast.

“I can confirm an explosion happened near the old interior ministry building in Kabul, and the explosion was caused by a car bomb,” interior ministry deputy spokesman Nasrat Rahimi told AFP.

The explosion comes exactly a week after Taliban militants stormed Intercontinental hotel in Kabul, killing at least 41 people, the majority foreigners.

A security alert issued to foreigners on Saturday morning warned that the Islamic State group, which has terrorised the city in recent months, was planning “to conduct aggressive attacks” on supermarkets, shops and hotels frequented by foreigners.