A British soldier was killed and three wounded on Wednesday when a suicide bomber drove a taxi carrying explosives up to their vehicle in Kabul, the second attack on peacekeepers in the Afghan capital in as many days.
A member of the ousted Taleban claimed responsibility for the blast, saying the bomber was an Algerian-born British national. The attack on peacekeepers of the Nato-led force came a day after a Canadian soldier and an Afghan civilian were killed in a similar suicide bombing in the city.
"We heard a powerful explosion. When we got out we saw a destroyed British vehicle...along with a taxi," police officer Mirza Mohammad said.
A taxi thought to have been carrying the bomb was completely destroyed and pieces of human flesh, believed to be that of the suicide bomber driving the vehicle, could be seen, Mohammad said.
The explosion occurred at around 11 am (0730 GMT) on the road leading east out of Kabul to Jalalabad, near where four German peacekeepers were killed and dozens injured in June by a suicide bomber driving a taxi.
A statement issued by the 5,700-strong International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Kabul confirmed the soldier's death, but it did not have reports of any civilian casualties.
TALIBAN CLAIM: Abdul Latif Hakimi, an official of the deposed Taleban, claimed responsibility for the attack.
"It's just the beginning. More such attacks will take place. Hundreds of our men are ready to carry out such attacks," he told Reuters from an undisclosed location.
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