Suicide bomber targets NATO troops in Kabul

A suicide car bomber struck near a NATO convoy early Tuesday in Kabul, injuring many Afghan civilians. The attack, which was claimed by the Taliban, followed the arrival late Monday of US Defense Secretary Robert Gates on a surprise visit to Kabul to meet Afghan leaders and US military commanders. He was expected to meet President Hamid Karzai later Tuesday.

Mr. Gates's visit comes amid increased fighting by Taliban insurgents. This has been the most violent year on record since the US-led invasion in 2001. Political turmoil in neighboring Pakistan, where the Taliban draws militant support and seeks sanctuary, may be aiding the insurgency, say US officials. A senior US defense official warned that Al Qaeda may also be regrouping in Afghanistan, its former base.

Agence France-Presse reports that the suicide bomber had sought to target NATO-led foreign troops in Kabul, but detonated his car bomb early. Around 140 suicide attacks have been carried out so far in Afghanistan this year.

The target of the blast was two vehicles from the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) travelling to the airport but there were no casualties to troops, Sergeant Deitir Baumann told AFP.

An ISAF statement said the bomber was in a car and that 22 Afghans were wounded but there were no NATO casualties….

One of the Taliban's main spokesmen, Zabihullah Mujahed, said the extremist group was responsible for the attack. He said the suicide bomber was a university student in Kabul but there was no way of checking the claim.

Citing an Afghan police official, Reutersreported a lower figure of 10 injured civilians. It also reported that a NATO vehicle was damaged in the blast, but no troops were injured.

Gates wasn't in the area at the time of the blast. An anonymous senior defense official traveling with him earlier told reporters there were signs of Al Qaeda stepping up its activities in Afghanistan, which was run by the Taliban until 2001, says The New York Times.

The official cautioned, "It's pretty hard to pull trends out of a few indications," but added that even tentative evidence of increased Qaeda activity in Afghanistan "is something we are concerned with."

…Pentagon and military officials said the higher number of attacks and roadside bombings could be attributed to increased money for the insurgency from foreign sources and profits from domestic poppy production. The officials also attribute the increase in violence to the sanctuary provided in tribal areas of Pakistan that has allowed the Taliban and Al Qaeda to regroup.

Speaking before his visit, Gates told reporters that he planned to discuss the rising violence with defense leaders from NATO countries later this month at a summit in Scotland, the Associated Press reports.

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