AFGHANISTAN: Bomb attack kills one peacekeeper injures three in Kabul

Photo: IRIN

ISAF troops on patrol in Kabul

KABUL, 27 January 2004 (IRIN) - One Canadian peacekeeper was killed and three injured on Tuesday morning in the Afghan capital, Kabul, when a suicide bomber attacked a vehicle from the NATO-led 5,000-strong International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) on a routine patrol. One Afghan civilian also died, and eight other people were treated for injuries at local hospitals, police and doctors said. "This morning at approximately 08:45 hours [local time] on Darlaman Road, approximately 500 metres from Darlaman Palace, an explosion occurred and initial indicators are that one Canadian soldier has been killed and three Canadian soldiers have been injured," said an ISAF press release. Continuing violence in the country has been blamed on remnants of the hard-line Taliban and Al-Qaeda movements, and has had a serious impact on humanitarian and reconstruction work. Most attacks have been concentrated in the south and east of the country, with the capital relatively safe, partly due to the presence of the ISAF force. "It may have been a suicide bomber that caused the explosion," said the statement. ISAF deployed a rapid reaction force to the scene to investigate and secure the site. Ali Jan Askaryar, head of police in the western district of Kabul where the blast occurred, told AP the Canadians were part of a three-vehicle patrol when they were attacked. "There was a bump in the road, and when they slowed down to pass over it a terrorist jumped on one of the vehicles and blew himself up," Askaryar said. The injured soldiers have been evacuated for treatment to ISAF hospitals. The incident is the second suicide bomb attack on the international peacekeeping force since it was deployed in Kabul in early 2002. Last June, four German soldiers were killed and 29 wounded in a suicide attack on their bus in the capital. Two Canadian soldiers were killed in a mine explosion in October, when at least one anti-tank mine hidden on a sandy track in hills south of Kabul exploded under their vehicle during a routine patrol. Three other ISAF soldiers were injured in October in a separate mine explosion. Aid agencies and the government want ISAF extended to the provinces to provide the security they say is a prerequisite to development work and elections later this year.