(VOVworld) -  A powerful explosion rocked downtown Kabul, Afghanistan on Monday evening, the second blast of the day to hit the Afghan capital.

A member of investigation team holds defused explosives at the site of a suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan January 4, 2016. (Reuters Photo)

Officials were trying to determine the exact location of the explosion and there were no immediate reports of casualties, Kabul police spokesman Abdul Basir Mujahid told AFP. An interior ministry spokesman said the blast was caused by a car bomb.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombings, which comes as Afghan forces battle to end an hours-long siege near the Indian consulate in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif. Gunmen entered the consulate and carried out attacks, which killed two Afghan soldiers and injured nine others, including three civilians. Indian Ambassador in Afghanistan said the consulate staffs were safe.