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Aftermath of Kabul blast
At least 17 people have been killed and more than 60 injured in a car bomb explosion in the Afghan capital, Kabul.
The blast occurred near the interior ministry office and the Indian embassy.
Officials said it was a suicide attack. Eyewitnesses reported glass and debris scattered in the street and a plume of smoke rising above the area.
India’s foreign secretary Nirupama Rao said she believed the attack was aimed against the embassy as the bomber had driven his car up to its outer wall.
 | AT THE SCENE  Martin Patience, BBC News, Kabul The morning rush hour was brought to an instant halt as a car-bomb ripped through the city. “I heard a gigantic explosion,” Mohammed Naim, a local painter who runs a gallery, told the BBC. “Everything in my shop fell down on me. When I got out onto the street, I saw dead bodies and injured people all around me. It was horrific.” The insurgents appear to be sending a clear message – we can strike anywhere in Afghanistan.
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One report also quoted an online claim of responsibility from Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid, who said the attacker was an Afghan man who blew up his vehicle outside the embassy.
Kabul has witnessed a number of attacks in recent months. Last month six Italian soldiers were killed in a bomb attack on a military convoy.
Most of the attacks have targeted international forces or government offices – but Afghan civilians are invariably killed as well.
The latest blast hit at 0827 local time (0353 GMT), as residents were arriving to work.
Television pictures showed charred vehicles at the site and ambulances speeding to the location.
An eyewitness, Habib Jan, told the BBC the victims were civilians.
“A [Toyota] Corolla car was parked in front of the Indian embassy. It was rush hour, about 10 minutes after I arrived at the office when we heard an explosion.
“There were lots of workers cleaning the street – most of them have been killed.”
| DEADLY KABUL ATTACKS Sept 2009: Suicide bomber kills two civilians at the main airport Aug 2009: Suicide car bomber kills 10 people in an attack on a convoy of Western troops. Aug 2009: Suicide bomb outside Nato headquarters kills seven people Feb 2009: Suicide attackers kill 19 people in three government buildings Jul 2008: Suicide car bomber kills more than 50 at Indian embassy  |
Nirupama Rao told reporters that she believed “the suicide bomb was directed against the Indian embassy”.
“The suicide bomber came up to the outer perimeter wall of the embassy in a car loaded with explosives,” she said.
In July last year, a suicide bomber rammed a car full of explosives into the gates of the embassy, killing dozens of people and injuring more than 140.
The Afghan Interior Ministry said 17 people had died, and 63 had been wounded in the latest attack. Fifteen of the dead were Afghan civilians and one was an Afghan police officer.
The BBC’s Martin Patience, in Kabul, says there appears to be a lot of damage at the scene – now sealed off – and that municipal workers have moved into the area with brooms to begin a clean-up.
This is thought to be the fourth bomb attack in Kabul since August.
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Until the summer, the Afghan capital was regarded as relatively secure, but that is changing, our correspondent says.
Insurgents are increasingly targeting the capital because of the publicity it attracts.
Militants seem to be able to attack at will in what should be one of the most secure areas of the country, our correspondent adds.
Edrees Kakar, an office worker and freelance journalist, who heard the latest explosion, told the BBC: “These bomb attacks are happening so frequently that people no longer feel safe.
“People are leaving their homes less and less. We are frustrated and feel we are not getting sufficient help from the international community.”
Source: BBC