A suicide bomber blew himself up near a popular Lebanese restaurant frequented by foreigners in the Afghan capital Kabul on Friday and bursts of intense gunfire ensued.

A suicide bomber blew himself up near a popular Lebanese restaurant frequented by foreigners in the Afghan capital Kabul on Friday and bursts of intense gunfire ensued, Reuters news agency reported.

Extremist militant Taliban insurgents immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in the Wazir Akbar Khan district, which hosts many embassies and restaurants catering for expatriates, and said there were fatalities, all German.

There was no official confirmation of casualties of the assault, carried out around dinner time in the heavily fortified district where many wealthy Afghans also live.

"First there was a suicide attack near a restaurant for foreigners where a man detonated his explosives attached to his body, and then possibly one or two insurgents entered the restaurant," a security source said.

Gunfire continued for about 20 minutes after the initial blast and the main road leading to the area was cordoned off.

Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said the situation was under control but details were still sketchy.

Foreign forces are preparing to leave Afghanistan at the end of 2014 and President Hamid Karzai is deliberating over whether to allow some U.S. troops to stay to help his nation regain calm and stability after many years of war.