17 killed in Afghan blast

A SUICIDE car bomber detonated his vehicle outside the Indian Embassy in the bustling centre of the Afghan capital yesterday, killing 17 people in the second major attack in the city in less than a month. The Afghan Foreign Ministry hinted at Pakistani involvement – a charge Pakistan denied.

The blast occurred a day after the war entered its ninth year and as President Barack Obama was deliberating a request by the top commander Gen Stanley McChrystal for up to 40,000 more troops.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack – the second against the Indian Embassy in the past two years – and specified that the Indians were the target.