A loud blast and gunfire were heard in the Afghan capital Monday near a hotel popular with Chinese business visitors, a witness said. The Taliban claim to have improved national security since storming back to power in August last year but there have been scores of bomb blasts and attacks, many claimed by the local chapter of the Islamic State group. “It was a very loud explosion and then there was a lot of gunfire,” the witness told AFP. Afghan media also reported similar details. Security officials were not immediately available to comment on the blast in Shahr-e-naw, one of Kabul’s main commercial areas.