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AFP
Kabul
A car bomb detonated near a passing Australian embassy convoy in eastern Kabul Friday, an embassy statement said, killing at least one child and wounding several people just days after Afghanistan unveiled plans for Taliban peace talks.
Extensive damage to the facades of nearby houses could be seen with debris scattered on pavements as witnesses reported a strong explosion.
Security forces rushed to the scene as passers-by helped move the wounded, with witnesses complaining that ambulances took around half an hour to arrive.
A horse was also badly injured in the blast and could be seen stumbling in the street its head, belly and legs burnt before it was finally taken pity on and killed on the spot with a knife, a reporter at the scene said.
There was some confusion over the target of the bomb. Earlier, interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish said the"suicide"blast had targeted"a foreign forces convoy"when it went off around 9:00 am in the Qabil Bay area of Kabul. However a NATO spokesman denied any foreign troops had been injured, while the Australian embassy said the blast had come as one of its convoys was passing by.
"I can confirm a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) was detonated this morning in Police District Nine in Kabul City,"Captain Tom Gresback, spokesman for NATO's Resolute Support mission in Kabul said.
"One civilian was killed, and eleven civilians were wounded as a result of the attack. No Resolute Support service members were injured in the incident,"he said, condemning the attack and adding that NATO"fully endorses"a call this week by President Ashraf Ghani for the Taliban to join peace talks.
The Australian embassy said on its website that the blast was"near Australian Embassy vehicles while they were travelling in Kabul", adding that all staff were safe and extending its condolences to the victims of the attack.
