At least 89 dead in Afghanistan car bomb attack

Explosions, gunfire heard near Kabul airport Wed, Jul 16 23:05 PM EDT image 1 of 2 By Mirwais Harooni and Abdul Saboor KABUL (Reuters) - Explosions and bursts of gunfire were heard near Kabul International Airport in the Afghan capital after dawn on Thursday and black smoke rose above the facility, which is used by civilians and the military. The attack on the airport comes at a time of great uncertainty for Afghanistan as votes from the second round of a disputed presidential election are to be recounted. The poll is meant to mark Afghanistan's first democratic transfer of power. Officials said a number of militants had burst into a building just north of the airport but were quickly surrounded by Afghan forces. "A number of insurgents have climbed a building (outside) and are shooting at Kabul airport," said Hasmat Stanekzai, a spokesman for Kabul police. "The airport is undamaged and insurgents are surrounded by (Afghan forces). There are no reports of casualties and it is unclear how many insurgents are involved."NATO forces said they were aware of reports of an attack on the airport but could not give more details. The airport is home to a major operational base for NATO-led forces that have been fighting Taliban and other insurgents for 12 years, and is bristling with soldiers and police, guard towers and several lines of security checkpoints. Militants fire rockets into the airport almost every week, causing little damage, but frontal attacks on the heavily guarded facility are rare and represent an ambitious target for insurgents. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. A Kabul airport official told Reuters all flights had been diverted to other cities. In such circumstances, passenger planes are immediately diverted to other Afghan cities such as Mazar-i-Sharif in the north or Herat in the west. "Due to the closeness of attack to the runway Kabul airport is now closed to all flights," the official said. Planes could be heard circling above Kabul as the attack unfolded. A Reuters witness near the scene said he could see black smoke billowing above the airport and heard several explosions from what sounded like rocket-propelled grenades. A car had been set on fire not far from the scene. Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said a rapid response force had been sent to the area. On Tuesday, a car bomb detonated in a crowded market killed 43 people and wounded at least 74 in the eastern province of Paktika, close to Afghanistan's porous border with Pakistan. (Writing by Maria Golovnina; Editing by Paul Tait) =================== At least 89 dead in Afghanistan car bomb attack By Reuters Published: July 15, 2014 Afghan security personnel are pictured past mangled cars at the scene of a suicide attack at a busy market in Urgun district, Paktika province. PHOTO: AFP GARDEZ: A car packed with explosives exploded on Tuesday as it sped through a crowded market in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Paktika, killing at least 89 people, officials said, one of the most violent attacks in the country in a year. The huge explosion took place not far from the porous border with Pakistan’s North Waziristan region, where the military has been attacking hideouts of the Taliban in the past few weeks, prompting militants to retreat towards Afghanistan. “The number of victims may increase,” said General Zahir Azimi, a defence ministry spokesman. The attack comes at an uneasy time in Afghanistan as the country recounts votes from a disputed presidential election which the Taliban have vowed to disrupt. But the Taliban distanced themselves from Tuesday’s attack. The movement’s leader have ordered militants not to target civilians. “The truth behind this attack will become clear after an investigation, but we clearly announce that it was not done by the Mujahedeen of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,” Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said in a statement. “The Mujahedeen do not conduct such attacks and such attacks do not bring any benefit to them.” A local deputy police chief, Nissar Ahmad Abdulrahimzai, told Reuters that police had been tipped about the car and were chasing it when it exploded. “The explosion was so big it destroyed many shops. Dozens of people are trapped under the roofs,” Mohammad Raza Kharoti, the district governor, told Reuters. “The number of wounded will rise to more than 100 and the number of those martyred will also increase.” In Kabul, a remote control bomb concealed by a roadside killed two employees of President Hamid Karzai’s media office and wounded five, police said. The Taliban claimed responsibility. The attacks took place as foreign troops are gradually withdrawing from the country. The United Nations said last week civilian casualties jumped by almost a quarter in the first half of this year as hostilities escalate. =============== Car bomb attack kills at least 89 in Afghanistan Tue, Jul 15 14:40 PM EDT image By Samihullah Paiwand GARDEZ Afghanistan (Reuters) - A car packed with explosives exploded on Tuesday as it sped through a crowded market in Afghanistan's eastern province of Paktika, killing at least 89 people, officials said, one of the most violent attacks in the country in a year. The huge explosion took place not far from the porous border with Pakistan's North Waziristan region, where the military has been attacking hideouts of the Pakistani Taliban in the past few weeks, prompting militants to retreat toward Afghanistan. "The number of victims may increase," said General Zahir Azimi, a defense ministry spokesman. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack as a "despicable criminal act," which was a serious violation of international law, his spokesman said. The attack comes at an uneasy time in Afghanistan as the country recounts votes from a disputed presidential election which the Taliban have vowed to disrupt. But the Taliban distanced themselves from Tuesday's attack. The movement's leaders have ordered militants not to target civilians. "The truth behind this attack will become clear after an investigation, but we clearly announce that it was not done by the Mujahedeen of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan," Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said in a statement. "The Mujahedeen do not conduct such attacks and such attacks do not bring any benefit to them." A local deputy police chief, Nissar Ahmad Abdulrahimzai, told Reuters that police had been tipped about the car and were chasing it when it exploded. "The explosion was so big it destroyed many shops. Dozens of people are trapped under the roofs," Mohammad Raza Kharoti, the district governor, told Reuters. "The number of wounded will rise to more than 100, and the number of those martyred will also increase." In Kabul, a remote-control bomb concealed by a roadside killed two employees of President Hamid Karzai's media office and wounded five, police said. The Taliban claimed responsibility. The attacks took place as foreign troops are gradually withdrawing from the country. The United Nations said last week that civilian casualties jumped by almost a quarter in the first half of this year as hostilities escalated. (Reporting by Mirwais Harooni in Kabul; Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Writing by Maria Golovnina; Editing by Ron Popeski and Jonathan Oatis) ============================