A Taliban suicide car bomber blew himself up near Nato troops in the Afghan capital Kabul on Tuesday, wounding 22 civilians as US Defence Secretary Robert Gates visited to assess rising extremist violence.
Gates, who arrived late Monday on a surprise trip, was not affected in the explosion on the road to the airport, a Western official said on condition of anonymity, although he drove past the scene about two hours later. The target of the blast was two vehicles from the Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) travelling to the airport, ISAF said.
"No ISAF soldiers were injured but at least 22 local residents of Kabul were wounded during the suicide attack," it said in a statement. The interior ministry said in a separate statement the "bomber wanted to target the foreign forces but did not succeed. He exploded shortly before they passed," it said.
The windows of a government bus were also shattered by the blast and its sides pierced by shrapnel, an AFP reporter said. Witnesses said a woman and a five men on the bus were wounded. Gates was due later Tuesday to meet President Hamid Karzai and Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak.
Earlier he met with commanders from ISAF nations in southern Afghanistan, which sees the worst of the insurgency. He said Monday his trip was to evaluate international efforts against an increasing Taliban insurgency.
The "clear concern is that for two or three years there has been an increase of overall level of violence," Gates told reporters before arriving in Kabul. A top US defence official travelling with Gates said there were "early indicators that there may be some stepped up activity by al Qaeda." Asked about the claims, ISAF spokesman Brigadier General Carlos Branco told reporters travelling with Gates: "We have increased reports of foreign fighters' presence."
Comments
Comments are closed.