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| Kabul car bomb kills at least 16 outside supreme court | Kabul car bomb kills at least 16 outside supreme court |
| (4 months later) | |
| At least 16 people have been killed in a car bomb attack on lawyers, clerks and other officials outside Afghanistan's supreme court in Kabul, a day after a seven-strong squad showered rockets on the city's airport. | At least 16 people have been killed in a car bomb attack on lawyers, clerks and other officials outside Afghanistan's supreme court in Kabul, a day after a seven-strong squad showered rockets on the city's airport. |
| Explosives were packed into a Toyota Corolla, Afghanistan's most popular car, and detonated beside three buses waiting to take workers home, a common sight outside government offices because of the dire state of the city's public transport network. | Explosives were packed into a Toyota Corolla, Afghanistan's most popular car, and detonated beside three buses waiting to take workers home, a common sight outside government offices because of the dire state of the city's public transport network. |
| Local hospitals received nine bodies and 24 injured patients, said Kaneshka Turkistani, spokesman for the ministry of health. | Local hospitals received nine bodies and 24 injured patients, said Kaneshka Turkistani, spokesman for the ministry of health. |
| The city's deputy police chief, Daoud Amin, said survivors had been herded into rooms by security guards. "The blast hit just as people were going out to the buses," he added. "All the windows have been shattered. It is a terrible mess in here." | The city's deputy police chief, Daoud Amin, said survivors had been herded into rooms by security guards. "The blast hit just as people were going out to the buses," he added. "All the windows have been shattered. It is a terrible mess in here." |
| Police cordoned off roads that had been packed with rush-hour traffic at the time of the blast, about 4.15pm. The working day starts and ends earlier in Afghanistan than in the west. | Police cordoned off roads that had been packed with rush-hour traffic at the time of the blast, about 4.15pm. The working day starts and ends earlier in Afghanistan than in the west. |
| Witnesses said the tangled remains of the buses lay next to a tree uprooted by the force of the explosion. The explosion was a few hundred metres from the US embassy, Nato's Afghan headquarters and other diplomatic and government buildings. | Witnesses said the tangled remains of the buses lay next to a tree uprooted by the force of the explosion. The explosion was a few hundred metres from the US embassy, Nato's Afghan headquarters and other diplomatic and government buildings. |
| Police were trying to determine if there had been a suicide bomber inside the car or if the vehicle had been abandoned by its driver before the blast, said an interior ministry spokesman, Najib Danesh. | Police were trying to determine if there had been a suicide bomber inside the car or if the vehicle had been abandoned by its driver before the blast, said an interior ministry spokesman, Najib Danesh. |
| About half a mile down the road is the civilian entrance to Kabul's airport, which was shut for several hours on Monday morning when suicide bombers took over two half-built homes just outside the heavily guarded perimeter and tried to attack buildings and aircraft inside. | About half a mile down the road is the civilian entrance to Kabul's airport, which was shut for several hours on Monday morning when suicide bombers took over two half-built homes just outside the heavily guarded perimeter and tried to attack buildings and aircraft inside. |
| All seven were killed in the gun battle that followed, with no loss of Afghan police, soldiers or civilians and only minimal damage to the airport. | All seven were killed in the gun battle that followed, with no loss of Afghan police, soldiers or civilians and only minimal damage to the airport. |
| Tuesday's attack hit a much softer target, with little protection for workers heading out on to a busy street. It came two months after Taliban fighters stormed a provincial court in western Farah province, killing dozens of people, most of them civilians. | Tuesday's attack hit a much softer target, with little protection for workers heading out on to a busy street. It came two months after Taliban fighters stormed a provincial court in western Farah province, killing dozens of people, most of them civilians. |
| Additional reporting by Mokhtar Amiri | Additional reporting by Mokhtar Amiri |
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