At least 80 people were killed and more than 300 others wounded in the car bomb attack Wednesday in a high security zone in Kabul near the presidential palace, where several embassies and government buildings are located, according to the latest official data released by the Afghan Ministry of Public Health.

The incident occurred near the German embassy. Some 30 vehicles nearby suffered the impact of the blast, according to police sources.

The attack appeared to be one of the bloodiest of the long Afghan war, according to  The New York Times. 

The NATO spokesperson in Kabul, Capt. William K. Salvin, tweeted that the attack occurred near the German embassy and that the situation is being assessed.

Most of the victims appeared to be civilians on their way to work during the morning rush hour, as reported in The New York Times. 

So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The powerful explosion, which could be heard across different parts of the city, took place in the holy month of Ramadan.

Last week, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani urged all insurgent groups to respect the holy month and refrain from violence.

However on Sunday, the first day of Ramadan, the Taliban carried out a car bomb blast at a bus stop in Khost, eastern Afghanistan, that left 13 dead and eight wounded, mostly soldiers.

The Afghan government has been losing ground to the Taliban and other insurgent groups since the end of NATO's military mission, and now controls barely 57 percent of the country, according to data from Washington.