Six suicide bombers launched what appeared to be a well-coordinated attack on Afghanistan's spy agency in Kabul on Wednesday (January 16) killing at least two and wounding 22 others, officials said.

The attack happened around noon local time (0730 GMT), when the first assailant detonated a large car bomb near the entrance of the National Directorate of Security (NDS), said a statement from the office of the Kabul police chief.

Five more men, strapped with explosives and driving a minivan, were shot dead as they attempted to drive into the NDS compound, the statement said.

Two NDS guards were killed by the first bomber and 22 more people wounded, security and health officials said.

"There was a suicide attack here. I don't know about the causalities. I have seen a destroyed vehicle tire at the site, most probably it was a car bomb attack. The bang was very big," said Wazir Jan, a shopkeeper near the site of the attack.

Shattered glass and twisted metal lay scattered in front of the NDS and sirens were heard.

NDS head Asadullah Khalid narrowly survived a suicide bomber's assassination attempt last month in a brazen attack that threatened to derail a nascent and already fragile peace process between the Afghan government and the Taliban.

Taliban spokesman zabeehoola moohageed Zabihullah Mujahid told Reuters news agency the group was "unaware" of the car bomb.

-Reuters