Afghan car bombing kills at least 12, including 3 Americans

At least 12 people including three US civilian contractors were killed Saturday when a suicide car bomber struck a NATO convoy, officials said, underlining the precarious security situation in the Afghan capital. The Taliban denied responsibility for the blast, which struck outside a civilian hospital in Kabul following a wave of fatal bombings earlier this month that rattled the city. The piercing explosion in a crowded residential neighbourhood reverberated around Kabul and left a trail of devastation, including twisted wreckage of burning vehicles with officials seen piling up bloodied bodies in a police pickup truck. The blast killed 12 people and wounded 66 others, health ministry spokesman Wahidullah Mayar said on Twitter.

One Resolute Support (NATO) US contractor was killed and two Resolute Support US contractors died of wounds as a result of an… attack on their convoy in Kabul.

NATO statement

US-led NATO forces ended their combat mission in Afghanistan in December last year, although a 13,000-strong residual force remains for training and counter-terrorism operations. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the group was not behind the attack, which prompted the heavily-fortified US embassy, located a few kilometres (miles) away in the centre of Kabul, to sound its emergency sirens and a “duck and cover” alarm warning. The insurgents are known to distance themselves from attacks that result in a large number of civilian casualties. Saturday’s blast comes amid heightened security in Kabul after a wave of bombings earlier this month that killed more than 50 people and wounded hundreds, prompting fury from President Ashraf Ghani who blamed Pakistan for failing to rein in Taliban insurgents. The surge in lethal attacks has left the war-scarred city on edge.

Instead of seizing an opportunity to embrace peace, insurgents have again chosen violence in an attempt to remain relevant.

NATO statement

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