LoungeMachine
11-14-2005, 11:50 AM
Updated: New York:
Afghan Capital Is Hit by Two Suicide Bombers; Four Die
Nov. 14
(Bloomberg) -- At least four people, including a German soldier, were killed in two suicide bombings today in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul.
A German member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's peacekeeping force and three Afghans died when a suicide bomber rammed a car into a NATO peacekeepers' vehicle near the United Nations compound, German Defense Ministry spokesman Ingo Gerhartz said by telephone. Two other soldiers were injured, one seriously, and ``several'' Afghans were hurt, he said.
The UN compound lies on the main road between Kabul and the eastern city of Jalalabad.
A second suicide attack took place shortly after, Gerhartz said. He said he was unable to provide further information. At least one person died in that blast, which took place on the same road, Agence France-Presse reported.
This year has been the worst for insurgency-linked violence in Afghanistan since the December 2001 fall of the Taliban, AFP said. The deadliest suicide attack was on Sept. 28, when a rebel drove a motorbike into buses outside an army base on the same road in Kabul, killing nine, AFP said.
The NATO-led peacekeeping force in Afghanistan numbers about 12,400, and Germany is among the top four contributing countries, according to the NATO Web site. Germany sent more than 2,200 soldiers to the country, Italy sent 2,100, Spain has about 1,400 there, and the Netherlands about 1,200.
``We don't know the details yet but as it seems, the attack wasn't specifically aimed at German troops,'' German Foreign Minister-designate Frank-Walter Steinmeier told Germany's N24 television. ``From our viewpoint, our deployment there is legitimate, wise and will not be changed.''
Afghan Capital Is Hit by Two Suicide Bombers; Four Die
Nov. 14
(Bloomberg) -- At least four people, including a German soldier, were killed in two suicide bombings today in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul.
A German member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's peacekeeping force and three Afghans died when a suicide bomber rammed a car into a NATO peacekeepers' vehicle near the United Nations compound, German Defense Ministry spokesman Ingo Gerhartz said by telephone. Two other soldiers were injured, one seriously, and ``several'' Afghans were hurt, he said.
The UN compound lies on the main road between Kabul and the eastern city of Jalalabad.
A second suicide attack took place shortly after, Gerhartz said. He said he was unable to provide further information. At least one person died in that blast, which took place on the same road, Agence France-Presse reported.
This year has been the worst for insurgency-linked violence in Afghanistan since the December 2001 fall of the Taliban, AFP said. The deadliest suicide attack was on Sept. 28, when a rebel drove a motorbike into buses outside an army base on the same road in Kabul, killing nine, AFP said.
The NATO-led peacekeeping force in Afghanistan numbers about 12,400, and Germany is among the top four contributing countries, according to the NATO Web site. Germany sent more than 2,200 soldiers to the country, Italy sent 2,100, Spain has about 1,400 there, and the Netherlands about 1,200.
``We don't know the details yet but as it seems, the attack wasn't specifically aimed at German troops,'' German Foreign Minister-designate Frank-Walter Steinmeier told Germany's N24 television. ``From our viewpoint, our deployment there is legitimate, wise and will not be changed.''