KABUL, Afghanistan — Underscoring the deteriorating security situation in the Afghan capital, a suicide bomber managed Thursday to make his way into a heavily guarded government ministry in the city center and set off a powerful explosion. At least five other people were killed and more than a dozen people hurt.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which President Hamid Karzai’s office condemned as “heinous.” The scene at the Information and Culture Ministry was one of chaos in the wake of the blast, with officials shouting and police muscling bystanders away. Broken glass was sprayed onto the busy street, which is lined with shops. One side of the ministry building collapsed, and the aqua-colored front gates were bent by the force of the explosion.
Authorities said as many as two other assailants were believed to have taken part in the attack but apparently had escaped. The death toll provided by officials differed, but by day’s end Karzai’s office said five “civilians” — people other than the bomber — were killed in the explosion.
Witnesses and officials gave varying accounts of how the bombing unfolded. There was an exchange of gunfire at the ministry’s entrance about 11 a.m., shortly before the explosion rocked its main hall, according to police.
An employee of the ministry, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution by militants, said security guards shot and wounded the bomber as he was entering the building, but he managed to set off his explosives.
A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, said three attackers had taken part in the bombing. He said they made their way through the main gate by throwing hand grenades at the guards.
A witness, Mohammad Alam, said he heard several small explosions before a deafeningly large one.
It was not clear how the armed attackers managed to approach the building. Security in the area is heavy; the presidential palace is only a few hundred yards away.
The attack contributed to a growing sense of insecurity in Kabul, where violence has been increasing even though Western military officials insist that insurgents do not have a significant foothold there.
In the past two weeks, three foreigners have been gunned down in the capital.
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U.S. reportedly kills al-Qaeda chief in Pakistan
KABUL, Afghanistan — A U.S airstrike in northwest Pakistan is believed to have killed a front-line leader of al-Qaeda, anti-terror officials said this week, continuing an aerial barrage that has angered a key American ally but is thought to have hurt the network’s operations.
Intelligence indicates that a missile fired from a U.S. Predator drone killed Khaled Habib, a veteran Egyptian militant who became a leader this year of the “external operations” core based in South Asia but which targets the West, a senior European anti-terror official said Thursday on condition of anonymity.
Habib’s vehicle was blown up in the attack Oct. 16 in the village of Saam, a hub of foreign militants protected by tribesmen loyal to a Taliban chief, according to the senior official.
Los Angeles Times
