Suicide car bomber targets coalition convoy in Afghanistan

A suicide attacker detonated his bomb-rigged car near a coalition military convoy north of Kabul today, killing himself and an Afghan bystander, but causing no coalition casualties.

The explosion happened at 8.45am local time (5.15am Irish time) in the Dih Sabz district about 15 miles north-east of Kabul, according to district chief police Major Asamuddin Parwani.

“A suicide car bomb exploded on the Kabul-Bagram highway, killing himself and another man on a horse-drawn cart,” Parwani said. “The target of the attack was a passing coalition military convoy, which sustained no casualties.”

The unidentified attacker was driving a white car that exploded about 100 yards from the convoy, spraying shrapnel over a wide distance, Parwani said. Coalition forces cordoned off the scene of the attack.

An Associated Press reporter saw the bloody remains on the attacker, including his severed head, which landed near a roadside tyre repair business.

“The car was near two horse carts when there was a huge explosion,” said tyre repair shop owner Mahbubullah, 22, who uses just one name. “Coalition forces were also nearby searching cars along the road before the blast.”

Major Luke Knittig, a Kabul-based spokesman for Nato’s International Security Assistance Force, said coalition soldiers were in the vicinity of the explosion, but could not immediately confirm their nationality.

A military investigation is ongoing, he added.

The attack follows four suicide bombings carried out across Afghanistan during the previous two days amid a stepped-up spree of violence by remnants of the toppled Taliban government.