Suicide attack on US convoy kills, injures Afghan civilians

At least 4 dead in car bombing near embassy

KABUL, Afghanistan - At least four people were killed and 17 injured yesterday in a suicide car bomb attack on a convoy of American troops near the US Embassy in the capital, Kabul.

The attack occurred about 8:30 a.m. when a man driving a car detonated a load of explosives about 200 yards from the embassy as a line of what witnesses described as US military vehicles passed by. The explosion in rush-hour traffic in the heart of Kabul damaged cars and blew out the windows of several apartments in a high-rise building.

Witnesses and Afghan police said the military convoy, however, was well out of range of the blast and no American soldiers or embassy workers were injured.

Although the blast occurred only steps from the US Embassy, there were no visible signs of damage.

Americans and other Westerners were entering the embassy compound to participate in a Thanksgiving Fun Run when the bomb went off, sending some participants sprinting for the embassy gates, the Associated Press reported.

Mirwais, a driver for a local aid agency who was on the road outside the compound where the blast occurred, said the military convoy had passed well out of range when he saw the bomber's car try to speed ahead to catch the passing US patrol.

"Suddenly there was a huge blast and there was so much black smoke I could barely see," said Mirwais, who, like many Afghans, uses one name. "All of the windows of my car were smashed, but I, thank God, survived."

The bombing occurred on the final day of a visit to the Afghan capital by a delegation from the UN Security Council. Authorities had warned that they were on the alert for possible attacks in connection with the visit.

There were conflicting initial reports about the number of casualties early yesterday. Ali Shah Paktiawal, chief of the police investigation division in Kabul, said four Afghans were killed and three were wounded. But an Afghan intelligence official at the scene said seven people were killed and six were injured. Several hours after the blast, authorities said there were four dead and 17 hurt.

All of the casualties were Afghan civilians.

The bombing near the gates of the US Embassy marked the first major suicide attack inside Kabul in five months. While kidnappings and assassinations have become increasingly common in the city of 3.3 million people, bombings have largely been limited to areas near the southwestern edge of Kabul where the Taliban have lately expanded their hold.

In a separate attack in southern Afghanistan, two British Royal Marines were killed while on a foot patrol.

The Ministry of Defense said the marines came under "sustained enemy fire" while on patrol near Lashkar Gah in Helmand Province.

Material from the Associated Press was included in this report.