The National Directorate of Security (NDS) has seized 16,500 kilograms of ammonium nitrate hidden in a long truck from the PD9 of the Kabul city, the agency said in a statement on Saturday.

The truck had entered the country from across the Durand Line – the de facto border between Afghanistan and Pakistan – and then was taken to Kabul to be used for subversive activities in the capital of the war-ravaged country.

The bomb-making material, the NDS said, was hidden beneath chicken feed in the truck – which had a Pakistani number plate.

The material was placed in 50 bags with a capacity of 50 kilograms each, the NDS said, adding that the material would have been used in making suicide vests and conducting terror acts in the city.

The statement listed five names of people who have been arrested in connected to the case. The names are Nasir Ahmad, Aziz Ahmad, Hazrat Omar, Seddiqullah and Omar.

This comes after Kabul has witnessed deadly blasts in the past two months, which have claimed dozens of lives.

The government has announced that it would take a number of measures to boost the safety of the citizens across the country.