KABUL, Jan 19 - Several people were killed or injured in a blast at a hotel in a heavily guarded part of central Kabul on Monday, officials said.

"According to preliminary reports, a number of people were killed and injured," Interior Ministry spokesperson Abdul Mateen Qani told Reuters.

Kabul police spokesperson Khalid Zadran said the blast targeted a hotel in the commercial Shahr-e-Naw neighbourhood that includes large office buildings, shopping complexes and embassies.