80 killed, hundreds wounded in car bomb blast in Afghanistan (Photos)

A suicide bomb attack hit near the German Embassy in Kabul during rush hour Wednesday morning, killing 80 people close to a highly secure diplomatic area, Afghan officials said.

In addition to the fatalities, 300 others were injured, the health ministry said. A towering plume of smoke rose over the Afghan capital as emergency vehicles sped toward it.

Soldiers in fatigues stood with guns drawn — the sounds of screams, blaring sirens and traffic piercing the morning sky. Bystanders lifted wounded people from the back of cars as others hovered nearby as if in a daze, blood streaming down their faces. Mangled, burning cars stood nearby.