Kabul, AF explosion May 31 2017 - at least 80 dead 350 injured near German Embassy

At 8.22 am on Wednesday, a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) was detonated in Kabul near Zambaq Square outside the Green Zone — that houses diplomatic and government facilities, along with schools. Afghan security forces prevented the VBIED from being brought into the Green Zone, but the explosion caused civilian casualties in the vicinity. According to the latest figures from the Government Media and Information Centre of the Government of Afghanistan, 80 people have been killed and more than 350 wounded in the terror attack.

Click to expand...

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN)A huge suicide bomb ripped through a secure area of Kabul at the height of the Wednesday morning rush hour, killing at least 80 people and wounding more than 300, Afghan officials said.

The blast, which came a few days into the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, was one of the deadliest to hit the Afghan capital in recent years.
The bomb exploded in the diplomatic quarter near the German Embassy and the Afghan presidential palace. The streets were packed with commuters, women shopping and children going to school and the blast appears likely to result in a high civilian death toll.

Click to expand...

The target of the explosion in the Wazir Akbar Khan area was not immediately known, but Ismail Kawasi, spokesman of the public health ministry, said most of the casualties were civilians, including women and children.

Click to expand...

Associated Press images from the scene showed the German Embassy and several other embassies located in the area heavily damaged. Germany, Japan and Pakistan said some of their embassy employees and staff were hurt in the explosion.

The BBC said a driver for the British broadcaster was killed and four of its journalists were wounded. Afghanistan's private TOLO Television also reported a staffer killed; Germany said an Afghan security guard outside its embassy was among those killed.

The explosion took place at the peak of Kabul's rush hour, when roads are packed with worktime commuters. Najib Danish, deputy spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said the bomber detonated his truck filled with explosives close to a busy intersection in the Wazir Akbar Khan district. The blast left a gaping crater, at least five meters (yards) deep.

The neighbourhood is considered Kabul's safest area, with foreign embassies protected by dozens of 10-foot-high blast walls and government offices, guarded by police and national security forces. The German Embassy, the Foreign Ministry and the Presidential Palace are all in the area, as are the British and the Canadian embassies. The Chinese, Turkish and Iranian embassies are also located there.

The U.S Embassy and the NATO mission in Kabul are also near, about a kilometre (half mile) away from the site

Click to expand...

[h=2]Analysis: Waheed Massoud, BBC Afghan service[/h]I have taken this route many times. This is one of the most heavily fortified areas of Kabul - the so-called Green Zone. There is a boom gate. Every vehicle is stopped and IDs are checked. But the stricter the security, the more insurgents find loopholes and adapt. It is very difficult to say that such attacks will be prevented. They happen in the most secure places on Earth.

We have been told this was a truck, perhaps a tanker that travels to bring water and empty septic tanks. The attackers may have posed as one of the logistics companies that work in this area.

The Taliban have denied the attack. When civilian casualties are high, no-one claims responsibility but this has the hallmarks of others claimed by Taliban insurgents.

Click to expand...

A powerful bomb hidden in a sewage tanker exploded in the morning rush hour in the center of the Afghan capital on Wednesday, police said, killing at least 80 people, wounding hundreds and damaging embassy buildings.

The victims appeared mainly to have been Afghan civilians.

The bomb, one of the deadliest in Kabul and coming at the start of the holy month of Ramadan, exploded close to the fortified entrance to the German embassy, wounding some staff, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said. Pictures showed the embassy building with its windows ripped out.

Click to expand...