STORY: An accidental detonation of explosives stored in an Afghan facility beside the U.S. embassy in Kabul sparked a brief panic early on Thursday (December 12), triggering concerns of an attack, but no immediate reports of casualties.
The blast happened about 10.30 a.m. (0600GMT), and the U.S. embassy's alarm was heard blaring across the diplomatic area of the Afghan capital immediately afterwards.
Farid Shamal, a spokesman for Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security, allayed the worries, saying an electrical fault had accidentally ignited explosives stored in the agency's main compound in Kabul.
The explosion came a day after a suicide bomber attacked a German convoy entering an ISAF facility at the city's international airport.
