Afghan Vice President Escapes Unhurt As Kabul Blast Kills At Least 14

Afghan first vice president Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum at Kabul International Airport (Image: via PA)

Afghanistan's first vice president has escaped unharmed from an explosion near the airport as he returned home after living in Turkey for more than a year.

The interior ministry said a suicide bomber carried out the attack near Kabul International Airport shortly after vice-president Gen Abdul Rashid Dostum's convoy had left the area.

At least 14 people, including civilians and military personnel, were killed in the attack and around 50 were injured.

Mr Dostum is understood to have been the target of the attack.

It is not yet known who carried it out, but both the Taliban and the Islamic State group are active in the Afghan capital.

Mr Dostum, a former Uzbek warlord, had been undergoing medical treatment in Turkey and is now well and ready to resume work, said presidential spokesman Haroon Chakhansuri.

He left Afghanistan in 2017 after the attorney general's office launched an investigation into allegations that his followers had tortured and sexually abused a former ally turned political rival. He has since reportedly been barred by the government from returning to Afghanistan.

It was not immediately clear whether Mr Dostum will now face any charges.

"The judiciary in Afghanistan is an independent body and will carry out its duties and responsibilities as it deems appropriate," said an official.

Mr Dostum is accused of war crimes committed after the fall of the Taliban government in 2001 and has also been criticised by the United States for human rights abuses.