Suicide attack on NATO-led force in Kabul wounds civilians
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Version 0 of 1. KABUL — A suicide bomber targeted a convoy of the NATO-led force in Kabul on Sunday, wounding at least seven Afghan civilians, but there was no word on whether there were any casualties among coalition troops. Meanwhile, five coalition personnel were killed and five others were injured when their helicopter crashed “due to a non-hostile incident” in Kabul, according to a brief statement from the NATO mission in Afghanistan. The BBC reported that two of the dead were British service personnel from the RAF. The convoy attack occurred on a road in a crowded part of central Kabul and damaged nearby shops, several passing cars and at least one armored vehicle in the convoy. “It was indeed a miracle that given the bigness of the explosion and the rush-hour time of the area, there has not been much casualties,” a witness said by phone. The Taliban insurgents asserted responsibility for the attack. Insurgents usually conduct such strikes against Afghan government and foreign forces led by the United States. In August, nine Afghans and three American contractors with NATO were killed in a similar attack in Kabul. The latest attack comes nearly two weeks after militants seized the northern city of Kunduz, the most significant gain for the Taliban since its ouster from power in 2001. On Sunday, there were reports of sporadic clashes between Afghan troops and the Taliban in a few parts of Kunduz, and major parts of the city appeared to be under control of the government. The city has changed hands several times since the government, with the air support from of the United States, launched a counteroffensive 10 days ago. |