Teenage Afghan bomber kills six near NATO HQ
Source: Agencies |
September 9, 2012, Sunday
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A TEENAGE suicide bomber blew himself up outside NATO headquarters in the Afghan capital Kabul yesterday, killing at least six civilians in a strike that targeted the heart of the United States-led military operation in the country, officials said.
The bomber, who was riding an explosives-laden motorcycle, blew himself up near the entrance of Camp Eggers, a NATO spokeswoman said, referring to a sprawling base that is home to 2,500 coalition personnel who train Afghan security forces.
The blast was the latest example of how militants are able to strike in the heart of Kabul even after more than a decade of fighting Western forces with far superior firepower. It also raises questions about Afghan forces' ability to combat insurgents once most foreign troops leave by the end of 2014.
Pieces of flesh and splattered blood lay on the street near the base, where small bodies were seen being lifted into ambulances, witnesses said.
Young children were among the dead, an interior ministry spokesman revealed.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast, which was the latest in a series of insurgent attacks in the heavily-fortified Afghan capital aimed at undercutting a months-long campaign by the US-led coalition to shore up security in Kabul before a significant withdrawal of combat troops limits American options.
While bombings and shootings elsewhere in Afghanistan often receive relatively little attention, attacks in the capital score propaganda points for the insurgents by throwing doubt on the government's ability to provide security even the seat of its power.
The bomber struck just before noon yesterday outside the headquarters of the NATO coalition, on a street that connects the alliance headquarters to the nearby US and Italian embassies, a large US military base and the Afghan Defense Ministry.
The alliance and police said all of the dead were Afghans, and the Ministry of Interior said some were street children. Kabul police said in a statement that the bomber was 14 years old.
The bomber, who was riding an explosives-laden motorcycle, blew himself up near the entrance of Camp Eggers, a NATO spokeswoman said, referring to a sprawling base that is home to 2,500 coalition personnel who train Afghan security forces.
The blast was the latest example of how militants are able to strike in the heart of Kabul even after more than a decade of fighting Western forces with far superior firepower. It also raises questions about Afghan forces' ability to combat insurgents once most foreign troops leave by the end of 2014.
Pieces of flesh and splattered blood lay on the street near the base, where small bodies were seen being lifted into ambulances, witnesses said.
Young children were among the dead, an interior ministry spokesman revealed.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast, which was the latest in a series of insurgent attacks in the heavily-fortified Afghan capital aimed at undercutting a months-long campaign by the US-led coalition to shore up security in Kabul before a significant withdrawal of combat troops limits American options.
While bombings and shootings elsewhere in Afghanistan often receive relatively little attention, attacks in the capital score propaganda points for the insurgents by throwing doubt on the government's ability to provide security even the seat of its power.
The bomber struck just before noon yesterday outside the headquarters of the NATO coalition, on a street that connects the alliance headquarters to the nearby US and Italian embassies, a large US military base and the Afghan Defense Ministry.
The alliance and police said all of the dead were Afghans, and the Ministry of Interior said some were street children. Kabul police said in a statement that the bomber was 14 years old.
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