In Pictures: Bomb blast near Kabul hotel

Scene of the blast in Wazir Akbar Khan district

A car bomb explosion outside a hotel in the Afghan capital, Kabul, has killed at least eight people and caused severe damage to the house of former Vice-President, Ahmed Zia Massoud.

The bomb went off as a black four-wheeled drive vehicle passed the Heetal Hotel in Wazir Akbar Khan district, where many diplomats and foreigners live and work.

Afghan security personnel use a carpet to carry a victim of the explosion

Two bodyguards of former Vice-President Massoud were among the dead, Afghan President Hamid Karzai said.

A wounded man squats by the Heetal Hotel in Kabul after the blast

At least 31 people were wounded in the blast, the latest in a series of attacks in the city in recent months.

Afghan security official looks through the shattered window of a car

The wreckage of the car was in flames outside the hotel, reports say, as police and emergency vehicles took the wounded away.

An Afghan policeman outside the Heetal hotel

The interior ministry said that the target of the bombing was unclear, but security officials at the scene said it was aimed at the former first vice president, who is the brother of legendary anti-Taliban hero Ahmad Shah Massoud.