NEW DELHI — The Indian Embassy in Afghanistan’s capital came under attack Thursday for the second time in 15 months as a powerful bomb exploded along an exterior wall, killing 17 police officers and civilians, wounding 76 people and destroying vehicles and buildings.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the suicide attack, which occurred in a heavily fortified area about 8:30 a.m.
This latest blast in Kabul underscored the point, analysts said, that militants can strike at will even in Afghanistan’s most-secure areas.
In India, the attack raised suspicions of Pakistani involvement and concerns across the region that it could disrupt attempts to improve relations between India and Pakistan.
Thursday’s blast was heard across the city as shock waves shattered windows and a plume of smoke rose hundreds of feet in the air.
The bomber drove a sport utility vehicle, said Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao.
On a Taliban website, spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the blast was its handiwork, the Indian Embassy was the target and the bomber was from the Paghman district of Kabul province.
G. Parthasarathy, an analyst at the Center for Policy Research in New Delhi, said it’s clear the Taliban sees Indian economic assistance in Afghanistan as complementary to American strategic objectives.
“Therefore, Indians are targeted,” he said. “Add to that, their (the militants’) Pakistani mentors are not too happy with our presence in Afghanistan.”
In other developments Thursday, Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said nearly 4,000 pounds of heroin and 50 tons of opium were seized and destroyed in Helmand province.i
