*KABUL: *A foreign national was killed and at least five other peoplewounded in a grenade attack on a United Nations vehicle in Kabul on Sunday,an Afghan official said.
The attack happened on a road frequently used by UN traffic shuttlingworkers between central Kabul and a large UN compound on the outskirts ofthe capital.
“At around 6:20pm (1350 GMT) a grenade was hurled at a UN vehicle,”interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said.
Aside from the one fatality, Rahimi said five other people — including twoAfghan staff — were wounded. The nationalities of the other victims werenot released.
A UN official did not immediately return a message seeking comment, and nogroup has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. The Taliban did notrespond to a query.
The blast comes during what has been a period of relative and uneasy calmin Kabul, where the rate of large-scale attacks has dropped in recent weeks.
The comparative lull followed a blood-stained presidential campaign seasonthat ended with a general election nearly two months ago.
But Afghans are still waiting for the results of that September 28 poll,with a recount bogged down by various technical difficulties and complaintsfrom main candidates.
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Additionally, Afghans are waiting to see what might happen next innegotiations between the Taliban and the US.
President Donald Trump in September ended those yearlong talks as Talibanviolence continued, but on Friday he suggested to US broadcaster *FoxNews* thatnegotiations could be getting underway again.
Aid agencies and non-governmental groups are sometimes targeted inAfghanistan’s war.
For instance, the Taliban in May targeted Counterpart International, aUS-funded non-profit group working with marginalised people. Nine peoplewere killed in that attack.
But the UN’s white vehicles, easily identifiable with the world body’sinitials painted on the side, are rarely involved in attacks and circulateroutinely around Kabul and in the provinces.
In 2011, seven foreign UN workers — including four Nepalis, a Swede, aNorwegian and a Romanian — were killed in an attack on a UN compound in thenorthern city of Mazar-i-Sharif. -APP/AFP
