Afghanistan: Car bomb targeted at U.S. convoy goes off
http://www.hrlnews.com/2019/06/afghanistan-car-bomb-targeted-at-us.html
A car bomb attack on a U.S. convoy in the Afghan capital on Friday,
wounded four U.S. service members and killed at least four Afghan
civilians, officials said, in the second attack in the city in two days.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast, which came a day
after the Islamic State militant group claimed a suicide attack outside a
military training academy that killed at least six people.
A spokesman for U.S. Forces in Afghanistan confirmed that a car bomb
hit a U.S. convoy and four service members had suffered minor injuries
in the explosion but gave no other details.
An interior ministry spokesman said four Afghan civilians had been killed.
The blast sent a plume of white smoke into the air and spread debris
across the busy Jalalabad road in the city’s east, an area with several
large security compounds which has seen repeated attacks over the years.
But other officials said as many as nine people had been killed with varying estimates of the number of wounded.
“I was hit in the head by flying glass and many people have suffered
injuries,” said Abdul Qayum, who was wearing a bandage around his head.
The main Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said in a statement
the attack targeted a convoy of “senior foreign advisers”, killing 10
and destroying two vehicles.
Witnesses said at least three armored Land Cruiser vehicles were in
the convoy, one of which was heavily damaged in the explosion and
removed from the scene by crane as Afghan and U.S. troops guarded the
scene while firefighters cleaned up.
Kabul has been on high alert in recent days, with security
checkpoints reinforced, despite increased diplomatic efforts to open a
peace process to end 18 years of war in Afghanistan.
Friday’s attack, shortly before next week’s Eid al-Fitr holiday, came
as a delegation of Taliban officials met senior Afghan politicians in
Moscow this week for discussions which the main Taliban spokesman said
had made good progress.
The Taliban have been talking with U.S. diplomats for several months
to agree a withdrawal of more than 20,000 U.S. and NATO coalition troops
in exchange for guarantees that Afghanistan would not be used as a base
for militant attacks.
Following a ceasefire last year over the Eid holiday, there had been
hopes that a truce would be agreed for this year’s holiday, which comes
at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
But Taliban officials have said that did not appear likely.