Nine Indians killed in Taliban attack in Kabul, India outraged (Roundup)

KABUL/NEW DELHI - Nine Indians were among 15 people killed when Taliban bombers attacked a hotel and three more buildings in the heart of the Afghan capital Friday, triggering an angry reaction in New Delhi which vowed to continue its strategic ties with Kabul.

Outraged by the third major attack on Indian interests in Afghanistan in recent times, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh denounced this “senseless act of violence and barbarism”.

He said that the Indians who died were helping to build a peaceful and democratic Afghanistan.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the terror strike and said: “Attacks on Indian citizens will not affect relations between India and Afghanistan.”

Indian External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said “the barbaric attacks are a matter of deep concern and clearly aimed against the people of India and Afghanistan”.

In an obvious reference to the Pakistani intelligence, he said: “These are the handiwork of those who are desperate to undermine the friendship between India and Afghanistan and do not wish to see a strong, democratic and pluralistic Afghanistan.”

Krishna said the dead Indians included government officials.

According to media reports, the dead included a French citizen and an Italian national.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said by telephone from an undisclosed location that five Taliban bombers attacked two compounds used by foreigners.

But Abdul Ghafar Sayedzada, a senior police official, put the number of attackers at three and said all of them have been killed. Three policemen were also slain while five were wounded.

Thirty-two others were injured including an unspecified number of Indians, media reports said.

The well-planned assault took place at around 7 a.m. around the City Centre shopping complex and the Safi Landmark hotel, about 300 meters from the interior ministry.

First, the bombers stormed the residence of an Indian medical team, who work at an Indian hospital in Kabul. The attackers sprayed the doctors and their aides with bullets before one of them detonated himself, according to DPA.

The explosion caused the front wall of the house to collapse, DPA quoted police official Abdul Baqi as saying.

Afghan channel Tolo TV said residents in one of the buildings included Indian doctors working at the Indira Gandhi Children’s Hospital, an India-aided project in Afghanistan.

The rest of the attackers rushed inside the nearby Park Residence, another guest house frequented by foreigners, and the adjacent Safi Landmark hotel and shopping complex.

Afghan security forces, mainly police, took up positions on rooftops, behind traffic barriers and trees, while others rushed inside the guest house to flush out the militants, a DPA journalist said.

Pools of blood could be seen on the ground at the scene of attack. The ground was also covered with broken glass from the explosions and mangled parts of at least two vehicles destroyed in the attack.

Krishna said most of the injured Indians were out of danger. He said arrangements were being made for their adequate and expeditious treatment, if necessary, by evacuating them to India.

He said India was in close touch with the Afghan government on all aspects concerning the safety, security and welfare of Indians in that country.

The international community and the people of Afghanistan face a clear danger from the perpetrators of such acts of terrorism and their patrons, Krishna said in another veiled reference to Pakistan.

The dead included Roshan Lal of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), who was preparing to fly back to Himachal Pradesh’s Chamba district.

This is the third attack on Indian interests in Afghanistan in the past 20 months. The Indian embassy has been attacked twice.

The Indian foreign ministry said: “We will not allow forces of terrorism to succeed. We will do everything at our disposal to defeat the forces of extremism.”

India has pledged $1.3 billion for reconstruction of Afghanistan. Some 4,000 Indians are engaged in carrying out works including building of roads, dams and power stations.