Car bomb kills four Afghans and one British soldier

A CAR bomb targeting a British military convoy killed four Afghan civilians and one British soldier in the Afghan capital Kabul yesterday, NATO and Afghan officials said. Ten people were wounded.

It came the same day as one NATO soldier was killed by friendly fire and several were wounded during a major offensive to crush a resurgent Taliban in southern Afghanistan.

The troops were strafed by two of their own warplanes after calling in air support during a battle at close quarters with Taliban fighters in Kandahar province, the alliance said in a statement.

Meanwhile, grieving colleagues of the 12 British airmen killed in a plane crash in Afghanistan on Saturday observed a minute’s silence in their memory yesterday.

The car bomb happened on the Kabul-Jalalabad road at 10.15am local time (5.45am Irish time), NATO officials said.

Afghan officials said it was a suicide bombing and the attacker also died.

But NATO spokesman Major Toby Jackman said it was unclear if the attack was a suicide bombing or caused by a bomb that was being transported in a car exploding prematurely.

The Ministry of Defence said a four-wheel-drive vehicle was driven at the British convoy. It said one soldier had died and another was seriously wounded and evacuated to a military hospital for treatment.

Major Luke Knittig, another NATO spokesman, said the soldier who died was initially reported wounded, but later succumbed to his injuries. He said in all, three Nato troops were wounded. Two sustained light injuries.

British soldiers blocked the road leading to the site of the bombing — the main highway running east out of Kabul.

Ali Shah Paktiawal, the criminal director of Kabul police, said it was a suicide attack and had killed four Afghan civilians and wounded seven. He said the bomber was driving a four-wheel-drive car and had also died.

Paktiawal said among the civilians killed were two Afghan youths who were riding past on a motorbike at the time of the blast.

Taliban-led militants have stepped up attacks in Afghanistan this year. The relatively secure capital has escaped most of the violence, but has been rattled by periodic bombings and rocket attacks.

NATO said the friendly fire incident occurred during a major NATO-led operation in Kandahar province’s Panjwayi district. After ground troops requested air support, two US aircraft “regrettably engaged friendly forces during a strafing run, using cannons”, the statement said.

One Canadian soldier was killed, said NATO spokesman Major Scott Lundy, while five were seriously wounded and evacuated out of Afghanistan for medical treatment. He did not say where they were taken. An investigation into the incident has been launched.

“It is particularly distressing to us all when, despite the care and precautions that are always applied, a tragedy like this happens,” said NATO commander Lt General David Richards.

Meanwhile, military and civilian personnel at RAF Kinloss held a service for the men who lost their lives when the Nimrod crashed near Kandahar.

Prayers were said and a one-minute silence observed at the station in Moray, where 12 of the air crew with 120 Squadron were based.

All non-essential flights were grounded as a mark of respect and a day of mourning was declared.

Station commander Group Captain Chris Birks said a four-man board of inquiry was on its way to the Middle East to investigate the cause of the crash, in which a total of 14 men lost their lives.

The tragedy is thought to have happened due to a technical fault.