A blast followed by gunfire has been reported near the main university in the Afghan capital on Monday. 

Interior Ministry said that security forces had been deployed to the area. 

“Gunshots still can be heard in the area but security forces have blocked it off,” Ministry of Interior spokesman Tariq Arian said.

“We don’t know whether we are dealing with a coordinated attack or something else,” he said.

Reports about casualties or injuries have not come yet. It is not clear who was responsible for the attack.

According to Reuters, the insurgent Taliban denied involvement in the attack, which comes at a sensitive time with persistent violence even as peace negotiators meet in Qatar to try to broker a deal between the militants and the government while the United States withdraws its troops.

Witness said that students had rushed from the Kabul University campus.

“This time is one of the busiest times at the university and almost all students have now left,” student Nahid.