How much cooperation they had from the Afghan police
guarding the mission? Who can guess.
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DEFENCE ATTACHE KILLED IN KABUL MISSION BLAST
7 Jul 2008, 1600 hrs IST,PTI
Times of India, July 7
Afghan police officers stand guard at the entrance of the Indian
embassy in Kabul. (AP Photo)
More Pictures
KABUL: Terrorists rammed an explosives-laden car into the heavily
fortified Indian embassy's gates in the Afghanistan capital on Monday,
killing at least 41 people, including four Indian nationals, among
them a senior diplomat and defence attache. ( Watch )
Defence Attache Brigadier R D Mehta and Counsellor Venkateswara Rao
were killed when the suicide bomber targeted the embassy during the
morning rush hour, Indian ambassador Jayant Prasad, who escaped unhurt
in the bombing, said. ( Watch )
Rao's body was flung over the roof by the impact of the explosion that
blew off the embassy's gates and outer structure and damaged buildings
inside the compound. Two Indian embassy vehicles were also damaged, an
official said, adding over 140 people were injured in the blast.
The other two Indians killed in the attack were identified as ITBP
personnel Ajai Pathania and Roop Singh.
Wounded people lay on the road wailing for help amid blood and severed
limbs after the blast as a cloud of dust and smoke billowed from the
site.
A fifth deceased employee of the Indian Embassy Niamutullah, was a
local Afghan, officials, said adding three Indians were also injured
in the blast. Among the dead were seven Afghan guards deployed at the
mission.
India said it is ru****ng a high-level team, headed by Nalin Surie,
Secretary (West) to Kabul to *****s the "emergency" situation there,
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in New Delhi.
Afghan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta visited the embassy soon
after the attack suspected to be carried out by the Taliban.
Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Nikzad said the blast killed 41
people. US-led coalition forces cordoned off the site after the
explosion.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai blamed the "enemies" of the strong
friend****p between Afghanistan and India for the attack but did not
name any person or group.
"The president strongly condemned the terrorist attack against the
Indian embassy in Kabul and considers it the work of enemies of
Afghanistan-India friend****p," a statement from his office said.
No group has taken responsibility for the attack carried out with an
explosive-packed Toyoto Corolla driven by the suicide bomber who also
blew himself up as he rammed the vehicle into the embassy, near the
Interior Ministry.
Some witnesses said that the bomber was trying to target two
diplomatic vehicles as they were entering the embassy premises.
It is the first major attack on an Indian mission abroad and the
deadliest suicide bombing in Kabul since the Taliban were ousted by US-
led NATO forces in late 2001.
People queuing up for visa at the Indian embassy, shoppers at a nearby
market and security personnel bore the brunt of the blast.
New Delhi strongly condemned the terror attack and said that such
"cowardly" acts would not deter it from fulfilling commitments to the
government and people of Afghanistan.
"We are in touch with the Ambassador who is supervising arrangements
for medical assistance," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej
Sarna said in a statement in New Delhi.
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