A Taliban fighter stands guard after a blast in front of the Russian embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Monday. Reuters

"At 10:50 am Kabul time on September 5, an unidentified militant set off an explosive device in the immediate vicinity of the entrance to the consular section of the Russian embassy in Kabul," the ministry said in a statement.

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"As a result of the attack, two employees of the diplomatic mission were killed, and there are also Afghan citizens among the wounded."

The Afghan interior ministry told the media that a suicide attacker what shot dead by Taliban guards at the embassy.

"It was a suicide attack, but before the bomber could reach his target, he was targeted by our forces and eliminated," Afghan interior ministry spokesman Abdul Nafy Takor told the media.

Asked whether the target was the Russian embassy, Takor said: "Yes".

An Afghan civilian was killed and several others were wounded in the attack, he said.

"Without any doubt, we are talking about a terrorist act, which is absolutely unacceptable," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

Agence France-Presse