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| Afghanistan |
| Afghanistan: Deadly suicide attack rocks capital |
| 2009-08-20 |
| [ADN Kronos] A powerful suicide blast struck the Afghan capital Kabul on Tuesday, killing at least three people and wounding another 20. In the attack a suicide-bomber rammed an explosive-laden car into a western military food convoy, although most of the casualties were civilians, police said. Eye witnesses said the blast targeted a British military vehicle in the Hodkhil area on the Kabul-Jalalabad road, eight kilometres from the Presidential Palace. It was the second attack to strike Kabul on Tuesday, in a mounting wave of suspected Taliban attacks aimed at disrupting Thursday's crucial presidential and provincial elections. Two rockets fired by militants struck the presidential palace grounds and a police station in Kabul, with no casualties. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attacks. Presidential incumbent Hamid Karzai is the frontrunner in Thursday's poll, in which he is seeking re-election for another four-year term. Taliban fighters have vowed to derail Thursday's polls with attacks on polling stations and reprisals against voters. They have in recent weeks staged increasingly bold attacks on government and other sensitive targets in Afghanistan. A deadly suicide car bomb in front of NATO's headquarters in Kabul last Saturday killed seven civilians dead and injured over 90 others. |
| Posted by:Fred |