- At least seven people have been killed by a powerful
explosion in central Kabul, Afghan officials say.
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- The blast went off near a building housing a private
US security firm that works for Afghan President Hamid Karzai, the officials
said.
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- A huge crater was seen outside the building in the Shar-e-Naw
area, where aid agencies are also located.
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- Taleban militants told Reuters news agency it was a suicide
car bomb attack by one of their fighters.
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- The agency quoted Taleban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi
as saying the bomber died in the attack.
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- Al-Jazeera satellite television said it had received
telephone calls from Taleban spokesmen who said the attack had targeted
US forces, not Afghans.
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- It was not immediately clear how many Americans were
among the dead, but reports said at least two foreigners were killed.
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- The death toll is likely to rise, officials said.
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- The Kabul attack came just hours after an explosion at
a school in southern Afghanistan killed at least 10 people, many of them
children, the US military said.
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- It was unclear whether Saturday's blast in the south-eastern
Paktia province was the result of an accident or an attack.
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- Extensive damage
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- The building that was hit in Kabul is used by Dyncorp,
an American security firm which provides bodyguards for President Karzai
and also helps with police training.
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- A western security adviser whose office is nearby said
there was now a huge crater outside the building.
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- Police rushed to seal off the area, as fire and smoke
billowed up and sirens wailed. Witnesses said there was extensive damage.
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- Security officials from the American embassy also arrived
at the scene of the blast.
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- The BBC's Andrew North reports that the sound of the
explosion, which happened just before 1800 local time (1330 GMT), was heard
across Kabul.
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- There have been growing fears that militants opposed
to the Afghan government will carry out bomb attacks in Kabul ahead of
elections in October, our correspondent says.
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- © BBC MMIV http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3610178.stm
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