Deadly Taliban suicide bombing at Nato's Kabul base

At least seven people killed as bomber detonates explosives in street that also houses presidential palace and US embassy

• Staff and agencies in Kabul
• guardian.co.uk, Saturday 15 August 2009 09.43 BST
• Article history

A US soldier keeps local people away from the site of a deadly suicide car bombing outside Nato's headquarters in Kabul. Photograph: Saurabh Das/AP

A suicide car bomb exploded outside the Nato-led military mission in Kabul today, killing seven Afghans and wounding 91 people - including Nato soldiers - in an attack that penetrated a heavily guarded neighbourhood five days before the country's presidential election.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast, which was interpreted as a warning to Afghans not to vote in only the second-ever direct presidential election.

The bomber evaded several rings of Afghan police and detonated his explosives at the doorstep to the international military headquarters, sending the message that militants can attack anywhere.

The Nato headquarters, where its top commander, the US general Stanley McChrystal is based, is next to the US embassy and in the same street as the presidential palace. The explosion was the first major attack in Kabul since February, when eight Taliban militants struck three government buildings simultaneously in the heart of the city, an assault that killed 20 people and the eight assailants.

Afghanistan has been braced for attacks ahead of the election, and international workers have been encouraged to work from home over the next week or to leave the country. US, Nato and Afghan troops have been deployed to protect voting sites, particularly in regions where militants hold sway.

Injured Afghans wandered the street after today's blast, with children – many of whom congregate outside the Nato gate to sell chewing gum to westerners – among the wounded. The Taliban said the Nato headquarters and the US embassy away were the targets of the attack. A top Kabul police official blamed al-Qaida.

Brigadier General Eric Tremblay, the spokesman for the Nato-led force, said some soldiers in the International Security Assistance Force had been wounded but he did not say how many. The explosion occurred 30m from Nato's front gate, he said, adding that the Taliban were "indiscriminately killing civilians".

Afghan security forces had stopped the vehicle in front of building, prompting the bomber to detonate the explosives, Tremblay said.

Awa Alam Nuristani, a member of parliament and President Hamid Karzai's campaign manager for women, and four Afghan soldiers were among the wounded, General Mohammad Zahir Azimi, the spokesman for the Afghan defence ministry, said.

"I was drinking tea in our office when a big explosion happened," said Abdul Fahim, an Afghan in his mid-20s who sustained leg injuries. "I lay on the ground and then I saw wounded victims everywhere, including police and civilians."

The chief of Kabul's criminal investigation department, Abdul Ghafar Sayadzada, said 272kgs of explosives had been used, an amount which suggested al-Qaida was involved. The attacker passed three police checkpoints, Sayadzada said.

A Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, claimed responsibility for the blast and said the bomb contained 500kgs of explosives.

The attack falls in line with increasingly devastating and sophisticated strikes carried out by Afghan militants. The Taliban have carried out several coordinated attacks in recent months with multiple teams of insurgents assaulting government sites. Military analysts have said the increased sophistication comes from training by al-Qaida operatives.

Nato headquarters has several large, cement blocks and steel gates that prevent anyone from reaching the entrance, and the bomber was not able to breach those barriers. Afghanistan's transport ministry lies across the street fromNato headquarters.

Mujahid said a suicide bomber named Ahmadullah from the Bagrami district of Kabul province carried out the attack.

A driver from the nearby defence ministry said he had taken at least 12 people to the hospital. Most were seriously wounded,he said, requesting not to named because of safety concerns.

Kabul has been relatively quiet over the lastsix months, though militants have launched a barrage of rockets into the capital this month, most of which landed harmlessly in open spaces.

Security has increased over the last several weeks in preparation for Thursday's vote