A suicide and gun attack on a Kabul government compound on Monday left at least 43 people killed and scores  injured, an official said. As per reports, the attack took place in a government compound where where the Ministry of Public Works and other offices are located.

The attack has taken place immediately after a major security revamp in Kabul and US President Donald Trump's plan to cut down troop numbers which many fear could be detrimental in ending the 17-year war with the Taliban. However, no group has claimed the responsibility for the attack.
“Most of the victims were civilians. Afghan forces killed three of the attackers and freed more than 350 people trapped inside the compound, interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said. “A fourth attacker died in a car bomb explosion that launched the attack,” he said.

One of the wounded civilians broke several bones after jumping from the third floor of a building to escape the attackers, an AFP correspondent at a hospital said. Plumes of black smoke could be seen rising from the compound, with at least two military helicopters circling above.

Journalists near the scene reported hearing numerous explosions in the hours after the attack began mid-afternoon.

Ashraf, a witness who works at the Ministry of Public Works and who goes by one name, said earlier he had heard militants inside the compound exchanging gunfire with security forces. "They are also firing at the NDS facility nearby," he told AFP after escaping the compound, referring to the Afghan spy agency, the National Directorate of Security.