Suicide bombing in Kabul kills 12

KABUL — A powerful suicide bomb rocked Kabul Oct. 8 outside the Indian embassy, destroying vehicles and splintering buildings, killing 17 civilians and wounding more than sixty. The blast sent a huge brown cloud of smoke skyward and shattered windows hundreds of yards away.Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary said the explosion was a suicide bomb, without providing details. President Hamid KarzaiHamid Karzai's office condemned the attack, adding that civilians accounted for most of the injured.“We heard a big explosion, and smoke was everywhere," said Ahmadullah, 22, a merchant who was visiting friends a short distance from the attack. "They pulled out several dead civilians and a few dozen wounded. One of my friends in the house was injured by all the flying glass."

Nik Mohammad, a 33-year-old driver who was in the area when the bomb exploded, said the road shook violently and he saw at least four vehicles badly damaged.

India, a longtime Afghan ally, believed its political and cultural ties made it less of a target than many Western powers. That confidence was shattered in July 2008 when a massive attack on its embassy in Kabul killed 58 people, including two senior Indian officials, and left 141 injured. India subsequently fortified its Afghan mission with high blast walls, heavy steel gates and a more circuitous entrance, alterations the government credited today with saving lives.The blast failed to breach the perimeter wall, although it did shatter windows and knock down doors in some of the embassy buildings. No Indian nationals were killed or seriously injured, however.G. Parthasarathy, a former diplomat and now an analyst at the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi, said it's too early to point fingers, but it's clear that the Taliban sees Indian economic assistance as complementary to Western strategic objectives.