Kabul attack: Taliban suicide bomb targets foreigners near US embassy despite peace talks

The insurgents and US officials are working towards US troop withdrawal

A foreign soldier with NATO-led Resolute Support Mission inspects at the site of a suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan 5 September 2019 (Reuters)

A Taliban suicide blast in the centre of Kabul killed at least 10 people and wounded more than 40 on Thursday, officials said.

The blast destroyed cars and shops near the headquarters of Afghanistan’s NATO force and the US embassy.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, despite the negotiations with US officials over a deal on US troop withdrawal in exchange for Taliban security guarantees.

“At least 10 civilians have been killed and 42 injured were taken to hospitals,” said Nasrat Rahimi, a spokesman for the interior ministry in Kabul.

Video footage and photographs posted on social media showed several cars and small shops torn apart by the blast at a checkpoint on a road near the NATO office and US embassy. Police cordoned off the area.

Witnesses said the suicide bomber blew himself up as hundreds of people were standing or crossing the road.

Besmellah Ahmadi said he suffered minor wounds in the blast and sought shelter in a shop.

“My car windows were shattered. People rushed to get me out of the car,” he told Reuters.

On Monday, a Taliban suicide truck bomber attacked a compound used by international organisations in Kabul, killing at least 16 people and wounding more than 100.

The US top negotiator for peace in Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, said this week the two sides were close to a deal and had drawn up a draft framework agreement under which US troops would leave five military bases in Afghanistan within 135 days of the signing of the pact.

There are some 14,000 US troops in Afghanistan, deployed at various bases across the country.

Reuters