|
By Martin Patience
BBC News, Kabul
|
The morning rush hour was brought to an instant halt as a car bomb ripped through the city. "I heard a gigantic explosion," Mohammed Naim, a painter who runs a nearby gallery, told the BBC. "Everything in my shop fell down on me. When I got out onto the street, I saw dead bodies and injured people all around me. It was horrific." Afghan police in their olive-green uniforms quickly closed off the area of the blast. Crater Ambulance and police sirens blared across the city as rescue workers raced to the scene. Those injured were packed into the vehicles and taken to local hospitals for treatment.
 |
The insurgents appear to be sending a clear message: We can strike anywhere in Afghanistan
|
According to one eyewitness, the blast left a 5ft (1.5m) crater in the road close to the Indian embassy, the Afghan interior ministry, and a school. It was the same spot at which another devastating bomb attack killed over 50 Afghans and two Indian officials in July last year. One policeman told the BBC that he had seen blood on the road and shreds of children's clothing. Many of the buildings nearby have grey concrete blast walls to protect those inside from these types of explosions. Bystanders But not everyone was lucky enough to have such protection.
Deadly blasts are striking the Afghan capital with increasing regularity
|
Most of the victims of the blast seemed to have been bystanders or those going past in vehicles. I saw one man drive his badly damaged car - the windscreen blown out - away from the area where the car bomb had exploded. An hour after the blast, municipal workers, wearing bright orange overalls and armed with brooms, were seen entering the security cordon to sweep away the debris. Later, trucks removed damaged cars, and the charred engine block of the vehicle that was used for the bombing. It had been thrown 25m along the road by the force of the blast. This type of scene is becoming increasingly common in Kabul. Once regarded as relatively safe, the Afghan capital has been struck four times in the past two months by bomb attacks. The insurgents appear to be sending a clear message: We can strike anywhere in Afghanistan.
|
One-Minute World News
E-mail this to a friend
Printable version
BBC News
Bookmark with:
What are these?