An early message to media from a government source said there had been a car bomb, but this was later changed, reports Tolo News.

"An attack was prevented in front of the Central Passport Department in Kabul. This afternoon, an attacker who tried to enter the Central Passport Department was eliminated by the security personnel of the Central Passport Department. No one was killed or injured in the attack," the Ministry tweeted as quoted by Tolo News.

“Before the (attacker) reached his goal, he was targeted and eliminated. The attack took just minutes and ended up with the killing of the attacker,” Alam Gul Haqqani, head of the Passport Department, told the news portal.