Thursday, October 8, 2009

Afghan government officials have said that a powerful suicide car bomb hit near the Indian Embassy in Kabul on Thursday, killing at least 17 people and wounding more than 80 others. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast, saying their target was the embassy.

The Afghan Interior Ministry says the explosion killed mostly civilians on the heavily guarded road between its headquarters and the Indian Embassy.

Eyewitnesses reports said that the the blast was very powerful, shattering shop windows, filling the air with dust and scattering debris all along the road.

General Sayed Abdul Ghafar Sahibzada, the Kabul police chief, said the suicide bomber exploded his vehicle in the center of the capital. Some of the victims include police officers, he said.

Thursday’s blast comes one day after the eighth anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion into Afghanistan to topple the Taliban government.

Last year, a similar attack by a Taliban suicide car bomber killed about 60 people near the Indian embassy. It was the deadliest assault in the capital since 2001.