17 killed in car bombing outside India’s embassy in Kabul

[Naveed Yaseen]

KABUL: A massive suicide car bomb struck outside the Indian embassy in Kabul on Thursday, killing 17 people and injuring 63 more in an attack claimed by the Taliban.

In a statement on the group’s website, the Taliban said that one of their “martyrs” had carried out the attack in the diplomatic area, and said the Indian embassy “was the main target”.

The attack took place just after 8:30am on the busy Interior Ministry Street.

Interior Ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary put the death toll at 17 –two police officers and 15 civilians.

Indian officials – in New Delhi and at the Kabul embassy – said no one at the embassy was killed, although some guards had sustained injuries. No foreign troops were reported killed.

In a statement, Afghan President Hamid Karzai called the perpetrators “barbaric”, and said, “This is a terrorist attack, and an obvious attack on defenceless Afghan civilians.”

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a statement, “This is another example of the Taliban’s total disregard for the lives of the Afghan people.” The US embassy in Kabul issued a statement condemning the attacks.

The head of the European Commission delegation to Afghanistan, Hansjorg Kretschmer, said, “The attack will not be a deterrent for Europe from being a key actor in the security sector and justice reform process.” afp

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...2009_pg1_4