KABUL/NEW DELHI - A Taliban suicide bomber driving a car packed with explosives blew it up near the Indian embassy in Kabul Thursday morning, killing 12 people and injuring nearly 90 in the second such attack since July 2008. No Indian was killed.
The deafening 8.27 a.m. blast extensively damaged the embassy’s fortified outer wall and blew off windows and doors of the building. Three Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) personnel deployed outside the mission were injured.
The explosion, the fifth suicide strike in Kabul in two months, was heard in a large area and caused a panic run. Scores of people fell bleeding and others ran for cover crying for help. It left a large crater outside the Indian embassy.
Interior ministry spokesman Zemarai Bashary confirmed the attack was carried out by a suicide bomber. The Taliban claimed responsibility and identified the attacker as Khalid.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai joined the US, Britain and the European Union in condemning the attack that left some of the injured in serious condition.
“This is a terrorist attack, and an obvious attack on defenceless Afghan civilians,” Karzai said. It is “a terrorist act against our innocent people”.
The road on which the car bomb exploded also houses the Afghan interior ministry and some government departments, but the Taliban said the target was the Indian embassy.
In a statement posted on the insurgent’s website, it claimed that some senior Indian embassy officials were among the dead. “The embassy building, the main target of the attack, was destroyed in the powerful blast,” it said.
Indian ambassador Jayant Prasad said all his staff were safe. “The explosion I heard at my residence was exactly the same that I heard at my home (in July 2008),” Prasad said from Kabul.
He said the bombing damaged a watch tower and that the injuries suffered by the ITBP personnel were not serious in nature. The embassy wall bore the brunt of the blast.
The Indian government said it would never bow to terrorists.
Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor said: “India will not be intimidated by these criminal killers. We will take all steps necessary to protect Indian lives and installations in Afghanistan.”
Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said in New Delhi that the explosion was “more or less similar” to the 2008 bombing that killed over 50 people, including two Indian diplomats, and was blamed on Pakistan’s intelligence agencies. Islamabad denied responsibility.
She said the stringent measures taken by New Delhi following the earlier had worked “effectively”. This included putting up high-rise walls around the embassy and a multi-layered entry procedure.
The attack occurred a day after India pledged to continue to invest and endure in Afghanistan and asked the international community to maintain a long-term commitment to that country.
New Delhi has pledged $1.2 billion for the reconstruction of Afghanistan, making it the sixth largest bilateral donor.
Even before the Taliban claimed responsibility, an Indian official told IANS: “It’s the handiwork of people who do not want India to continue with its reconstruction activities that Afghan people are happy with.”
US ambassador Timothy Roemer said in New Delhi: On behalf of President (Barack) Obama, I want to extend to the people of India US support to India, and its concern about this bombing. Our heart goes out to India, to the victims of terrorism.”
British Foreign Minister David Miliband spoke to his Indian counterpart S.M. Krishna. I condemn unreservedly the awful terrorist attack which took place in Kabul.”
British High Commissioner to India Richard Stagg said in a statement: “Our thoughts and condolences are with the injured and with the families of those killed.”
The US embassy in Kabul said: “There is no justification for this kind of senseless violence.” The head of the European Commission delegation to Afghanistan, Hansjorg Kretschmer, added: “The attack will not be a deterrent for Europe from being a key actor in the security sector and justice reform process.”
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