Publish to Newswire
Add an EventFrom the Open-Publishing Calendar
From the Open-Publishing Newswire
Indybay Feature
18 killed in Kabul blast near US embassy
A massive suicide car bomb struck a convoy of US military vehicles in the Afghan capital today, killing at least 18 people, including two American soldiers, and injuring more than 30 others.
The blast, near the US Embassy in Kabul, came just days before the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks as Nato chiefs appealed for member nations to send reinforcements to combat resurgent Taliban militants. A top British general said the fighting in volatile southern Afghanistan was now more ferocious than in Iraq.
Today's bombing blew pieces of an American Humvee and US uniforms into trees, which were set alight by the explosion. The force of the car bomb shattered windows throughout the downtown area. A plume of brown smoke spiraled hundreds of meters nto the sky.
Two American soldiers in the vehicle were killed and two wounded, said US military spokeswoman Lt. Tamara Lawrence. At least eight Afghan civilians were killed and 15 wounded, said Interior Ministry spokesman Yousef Stanezai. The attacker also died.
The bombing, one of the biggest in Kabul in recent years, came three days ahead of the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States and as Afghan started commemorating the Sept. 9, 2001, assassination of revered anti-Taliban mujahedeen commander Ahmad Shah Masood.
The blast went off about 50 meters from Kabul's landmark Massood Square, which leads to the main gate of the heavily fortified US Embassy compound. It left a 2 meter-wide crater.
Witness Najibullah Faizi, 25, said he saw a blue Toyota Corolla driven by a young heavily set man speed past another car on the inside lane before ramming one of two US Humvees in a convoy.
More
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article1373570.ece
Today's bombing blew pieces of an American Humvee and US uniforms into trees, which were set alight by the explosion. The force of the car bomb shattered windows throughout the downtown area. A plume of brown smoke spiraled hundreds of meters nto the sky.
Two American soldiers in the vehicle were killed and two wounded, said US military spokeswoman Lt. Tamara Lawrence. At least eight Afghan civilians were killed and 15 wounded, said Interior Ministry spokesman Yousef Stanezai. The attacker also died.
The bombing, one of the biggest in Kabul in recent years, came three days ahead of the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States and as Afghan started commemorating the Sept. 9, 2001, assassination of revered anti-Taliban mujahedeen commander Ahmad Shah Masood.
The blast went off about 50 meters from Kabul's landmark Massood Square, which leads to the main gate of the heavily fortified US Embassy compound. It left a 2 meter-wide crater.
Witness Najibullah Faizi, 25, said he saw a blue Toyota Corolla driven by a young heavily set man speed past another car on the inside lane before ramming one of two US Humvees in a convoy.
More
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/asia/article1373570.ece
We are 100% volunteer and depend on your participation to sustain our efforts!
Donate
$135.00 donated
in the past month
Get Involved
If you'd like to help with maintaining or developing the website, contact us.
Publish
Publish your stories and upcoming events on Indybay.
Topics
More
Search Indybay's Archives
Advanced Search
►
▼
IMC Network
The attack on a US military convoy occurred near the American embassy, killing two US soldiers and injuring two others, the US military said.
It came as Nato generals gathered in Poland for talks on additional troops.
Nato forces in southern Afghanistan are facing fierce Taleban resistance and mounting casualties.
The blast targeted a US military convoy hitting a humvee, a military spokesman told the BBC.
Local hospitals told the BBC nearly 30 people had been wounded.
More
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5326060.stm
Two American soldiers are believed to be among those killed.
The Taliban later claimed responsibility for the Friday morning blast.
Mohammed Haneef, a Taliban spokesman, told an Aljazeera correspondent in Islamabad that the suicide attack was carried by Shah Wali, from Nangrahar province, eastern Afghanistan.
Mangled remains
A journalist saw two bodies being carried away from the crowded area in an ambulance, and body parts scattered around the site of the explosion in the city centre.
A policeman at the scene said he feared the number of casualties could be "very high".
Reports said the car that had carried the bomb was split into two and was in flames.
Rubble was flung about 50 metres from the site, about 100 metres from the embassy.
Hamidullah, a traffic policemen, said: "It was a huge explosion. Suddenly everything got dark. I lay down. When I stood up I saw two of my colleagues were wounded."
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/DB11A087-6F32-43F2-8D26-3E72D0DA81A5.htm