Kabul car bomb causes carnage
Kabul was previously considered one of the safer parts of Afghanistan
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Friday, 08, Sep 2006 12:01
A car bomb in the Afghanistan capital of Kabul has killed at least 16 people this morning.
Initial reports suggested that as many as seven of the dead are foreigners and two are said to be US soldiers.
The explosion occurred near the heavily fortified US embassy building in Kabul city centre, just before midday prayers.
Eyewitness reports describe a scene of utter carnage, with bodies strewn across the street and the car used for the bombing ripped in half.
Arabic TV station al-Jazeera quotes a traffic policeman from the scene, referred to as Hamidullah, as saying: "It was a huge explosion."
"Suddenly everything got dark. I lay down. When I stood up I saw two of my colleagues were wounded."
It is believed that the attack was aimed at a Nato convoy in the city and comes as Monday's fifth anniversary of the September 11th attacks on the US draws closer.
Kabul is normally considered as safer than the more volatile southern region of Afghanistan, where insurgent attacks are a daily occurrence.
But a suicide bombing in the city on Monday killed a British solder, Private Craig O'Donnell, and military analysts have noted a significant recent increase in violence in the capital.