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| Afghanistan |
| Afghan blast kills 8 South Africans: govt |
| 2012-09-18 |
| JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, Sept 18 Agencies - The International Affairs Ministry says eight South African citizens have been killed in a suicide bomb blast in Afghanistan. Spokesman Nelson Kgwete said that the victims are believed to have been employed by a South African aviation company based at Rand Airport in Johannesburg. A suicide bomber rammed a car packed with explosives into a mini-bus carrying foreign aviation workers to the airport in Kabul early on Tuesday, killing at least nine people in an attack that a militant group said was revenge for an anti-Islam film that ridicules the Prophet Mohammed. The attack took place on the eight-lane highway sometime after 6.30am (1200 AEST). The blast, which went off in front of a petrol station, was so powerful it hurled the minibus at least 50 metres. Earlier on Tuesday, a spokesman for NATO's US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) confirmed an explosion near the airport, but said there was no current report of casualties among its personnel. Witnesses said there was smoke spewing into the sky and a heavy police deployment at the scene of the attack, contributing to a major traffic snarl-up on the busy road. An eyewitness at the scene said he was waiting for a bus to go to work at 6.45am when he saw a small white sedan ram into the minibus. "The explosion was so powerful and loud that I could not hear anything for 10 minutes," said Abdullah Shah, a teacher waiting at a bus stop. "It was early and there wasn't much traffic or there would have been many dead." Reuters reported a jihadist group, Hezb-e-Islami, had claimed responsibility for the attack, in reprisal for an anti-Islam film that ridicules the Prophet Mohammed. The Afghanistan train wreck continues. The rule is, never get involved in a civil war unless you know which side you are supporting. |
| Posted by:phil_b |
| #4 The post-attack photo looks horrendous - the minibus carrying the South Africans was annihilated. Very powerful explosion. My prayers to all of the victims' families. |
| Posted by: Raider 2012-09-18 16:22 |
| #3 update Twas a femme fatale wot done it. Female bomber kills 12 in Kabul |
| Posted by: tipper 2012-09-18 11:11 |
| #2 Correction, my bad. One black South African dog handler in Afghanistan. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2012-09-18 08:17 |
| #1 Very sad. Former SADF personnel have paid a heavy price for their assistance to the US in both Iraq and Afghanistan. There is no work for white South Africans at home, they must go elsewhere. The hiring quota under (BEE) Black Economic Empowerment (Yes, gov't enforced hiring quota) is one white per ten blacks. I'm sure the President 'Shower Head' Zuma government is well pleased with this tragic event. By the way, I have never seen a black South African contractor in Afghanistan, Iraq, Bahrain, or Kuwait. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2012-09-18 07:54 |