A powerful blast (possibly due to suicide bomber crashing his car on the side wall of the Embassy) rocked the centre of Kabul early today near the Indian embassy and the Interior Ministry, leaving 12 Afghan civilians dead and 83 injured. The explosion occurred at the same place where dozens of civilians had been killed last year. The blast, which police believed was the work of a suicide bomber, took place around 0827 local time (0927 IST). On July 7 last year, a massive blast at the Indian embassy had killed 44 people, including high-ranking Indian Embassy officials, and left 147 injured. It was a suicide bombing, considered the deadliest since the fall of Taliban regime in 2001. Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said today's suicide attack in Kabul was aimed at the Indian embassy and it was similar to the one that occurred last year. She, however, said there were no Indians among the deceased, though the personnel guarding the Indian embassy had sustained minor injuries, she told a private TV channel.
