2 dead in truck bomb attack on foreign firm

KABUL (Pajhwok): A suicide truck bomb attack targeted at a compound housing foreign contractors killed two Afghan guards and injured three Afghan civilians and a foreigner in the Tarakhel area of central capital Kabul on Tuesday morning, officials said.

The blast that took place in the Tarakhel Tangi area on a foreign security firm was heard up to 15 kilometers away from the scene.

Kabul police chief Brig. Gen. Mohammad Zahir Zahir said the assault involved three attackers. The company’s guards allowed the first attacker posing as a worker of the consulting firm to enter his truck carrying sand to the compound.

As the attacker detonated the truck bomb, another two attackers opened fire at the company’s guards. The two were killed during an exchange of fire with the guards, Zahir said. Two Afghan guards were killed and one foreigner was injured in the attack.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Interior in a statement said three civilians had also been injured in the attack. It said all the three attackers had been killed.

One of the attackers detonated his explosives and the remaining two were identified and shot dead by police, the ministry said.

First Vice-President Abdul Rashid Dostum, who visited the attack site, called the entry of the truck to the compound as questionable.

Without naming any, he said such attacks were the handiwork of foreign intelligence agencies, saying elements working for foreign intelligence agencies in Afghanistan would be soon identified and arrested.

The VP said the delay in formation of the new Cabinet and running the government’s affairs by acting officials contributed to insecurity in the country. However, he said the Cabinet would be introduced soon to resolve the problem.

The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack in a text message. The group’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid said the attack involving a mazda vehicle targeted a foreign intelligence office. The bombing was followed by a gun attack from other fighters, he said.

The attack took place around 6:30am. The first attacker on the truck posed as a worker of the security firm and was allowed entry inside.

Some sources put the death toll at four in the attack on the consulting firm working for the US-led coalition

There were no casualties among the foreign contractors or military personnel present at the camp. The latest attack comes after a suicide bomber tried to kill a prominent member of parliament Shukria Barakzai on Sunday morning.

The attack killed three civilians and injured 22 others but the politician escaped with minor injuries. Last week, three NATO personnel were killed and 13 people were injured in a bomb blast in Kabul.

ma/mds