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Blast heard near Indian embassy in Kabul, cause unknown
Kabul: A large explosion rocked the centre of Afghanistan's capital early Thursday, near the Indian embassy and the Interior Ministry. At least seven people are feared dead.
More information on casualties was not immediately available. However, reports claimed that no Indian was hit by the blast.
According to reports, the blast occurred shortly after 8:30 am (0400 GMT) in the heavily fortified centre of the city. Toyota Corolla was reportedly used in the blast.
A report further claimed that two sporty utility vehicles were badly damaged, one of them labelled as a United Nations vehicle. The centre of the blast appeared to be just outside the Indian embassy. Windows in surrounding shops were shattered.
Police officers on the site said they believed it was the work of a suicide bomber, but did not provide further details.
US and NATO spokespeople said they did not yet have any information on the explosion.
The Afghan capital has been hit numerous times in recent months by suicide bombers and roadside bombs. The attacks usually target international military forces or government installations, but Afghan businesses and civilians are also often killed or injured.
Most recently, six Italian soldiers were killed and another three wounded in a suicide attack on a military convoy on the road to Kabul's international airport on September 17.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack, which also killed 10 Afghan civilians and wounded more than 50 in one of the worst single attacks on the more than 100,000 NATO and US-led troops serving in Afghanistan.
Foreign military deaths in Afghanistan are at record levels -- more than 400 in 2009 -- and the mounting number of Western troops coming home in body bags has sent support for the war plummeting in Europe and the United States.
On September 8, one attack in Kabul, home to significant numbers of Western officials, troops and aid workers, killed three civilians outside the city's military airport.
Two days before the presidential and provincial council elections, another suicide car bomb targeted a NATO convoy near a US military base in the capital, killing 10 people including a NATO soldier.
Kabul: A large explosion rocked the centre of Afghanistan's capital early Thursday, near the Indian embassy and the Interior Ministry. At least seven people are feared dead.
More information on casualties was not immediately available. However, reports claimed that no Indian was hit by the blast.
According to reports, the blast occurred shortly after 8:30 am (0400 GMT) in the heavily fortified centre of the city. Toyota Corolla was reportedly used in the blast.
A report further claimed that two sporty utility vehicles were badly damaged, one of them labelled as a United Nations vehicle. The centre of the blast appeared to be just outside the Indian embassy. Windows in surrounding shops were shattered.
Police officers on the site said they believed it was the work of a suicide bomber, but did not provide further details.
US and NATO spokespeople said they did not yet have any information on the explosion.
The Afghan capital has been hit numerous times in recent months by suicide bombers and roadside bombs. The attacks usually target international military forces or government installations, but Afghan businesses and civilians are also often killed or injured.
Most recently, six Italian soldiers were killed and another three wounded in a suicide attack on a military convoy on the road to Kabul's international airport on September 17.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack, which also killed 10 Afghan civilians and wounded more than 50 in one of the worst single attacks on the more than 100,000 NATO and US-led troops serving in Afghanistan.
Foreign military deaths in Afghanistan are at record levels -- more than 400 in 2009 -- and the mounting number of Western troops coming home in body bags has sent support for the war plummeting in Europe and the United States.
On September 8, one attack in Kabul, home to significant numbers of Western officials, troops and aid workers, killed three civilians outside the city's military airport.
Two days before the presidential and provincial council elections, another suicide car bomb targeted a NATO convoy near a US military base in the capital, killing 10 people including a NATO soldier.