7 die in blast at NATO HQ in Kabul

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-08-15 17:03

KABUL: A suicide car bomb exploded Saturday outside the main gate of NATO's headquarters less than a week before presidential elections, killing seven and wounding 91 in the biggest attack in the Afghan capital in six months.

A U.S. military personnel (C) shouts at the media to move away from the site of a blast in front of the NATO headquarters in Kabul August 15, 2009. [Agencies]

The bomber evaded several rings of Afghan police and detonated his explosives at the doorstep to the international military headquarters, an assault possibly aimed at sending the message that the Taliban can attack anywhere as Afghans gear up for their second-ever direct presidential election. Militants have warned Afghans not to vote and have threatened to attack voting sites.

The NATO headquarters - where top commander U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal is based - sits beside the U.S. Embassy and shares the same street as the presidential palace. The explosion was the first major attack in Kabul since February, when eight Taliban militants struck three government buildings simultaneously in the heart of the city, an assault that killed 20 people and the eight assailants.

Afghanistan has braced for attacks ahead of the election. International workers in the country were planning on working from home over the next week or had been encouraged to leave the country. U.S., NATO and Afghan troops were working to protect voting sites, particularly in regions where militants hold sway.

Bloodied and dazed Afghans wandered the street after Saturday's blast, which rattled the capital and sent a black plume of smoke skyward. Children - many of whom congregate outside the NATO gate to sell gum to Westerners - were among the wounded. Windows of nearby antique shops were shattered and blood smeared the ground.

The Taliban claimed responsibility and said the target was the NATO headquarters and the U.S. Embassy some 150 yards (meters) down the street. A top Kabul police official blamed al-Qaida.

Brig. Gen. E. Tremblay, the spokesman for the NATO-led force, said some soldiers in the International Security Assistance Force were wounded in the 8:35 a.m. blast. He did not say how many. The explosion occurred 30 yards (meters) from NATO's front gate, he said. Pointing to the civilian casualties, Tremblay said the Taliban were "indiscriminately killing civilians."

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