At least seven people were killed and 13 injured in an explosion in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, officials said reported AFP.

Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran said the blast targeted a hotel in the commercial Shahr-e-Naw neighbourhood that includes large office buildings, shopping complexes and embassies.

The area is considered one of the safest parts of Kabul.

"Twenty people were received at our surgical centre in Kabul following an explosion this afternoon in the Shahr-e-Naw area, near the hospital. Among those received, seven were dead on arrival," the Italian NGO Emergency, which runs a hospital in the Afghan capital, said.

Interior ministry spokesman Abdul Mateen Qani said the blast had caused both deaths and injuries, and that the cause was being investigated.

Footage aired by local television station Tolo News and filmed through a car windscreen showed people in a street with smoke and dust billowing behind them.

No group has claimed responsibility for the blast.

The Taliban took control of the war-torn country in 2021 and said it would restore security, but attacks have continued, many of them claimed by the local arm of the militant Islamic State group.