AFGHANISTAN: Turkish diplomatic convoy targetted in Kabul by suicide bomb

Suicide bomber hits Turkish diplomatic car in Afghan capital. A suicide bomber targetted a diplomatic convoy on the outskirts of the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Wednesday morning(July 18). After the blast, shots were fired at a damaged armoured vehicle in the convoy. A Turkish embassy official says a Turkish guard was wounded. NATO troops blocked off the site of the blast, on a main road leading west from Kabul, soon after the attack. Afghanistan's ousted Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, part of rising violence in the past 18 months and the bloodiest period since U.S.-led troops overthrew the militants' government in 2001. Chief of the criminal branch of Kabul police, Ali Shah Paktiawal, said it was fortunate there weren't more casualties. The bomber who blew himself up near the car of a Turkish diplomat was the only one who died. Kabul has been the scene of a series of roadside blasts and suicide raids in recent months against Afghan and foreign troops. But Wednesday's shooting after the attack on the convoy was the first of its kind in the capital. It also came hours after three rockets exploded in a field inside the city, police said. There were no casualties or damage from the rockets. ENDS

ITN Source | July 18, 2007