*KABUL – The Taliban killed at least 10 people in a fresh bombing in Kabulon Thursday, yet another horrific attack on the Afghan capital as the USand the insurgents negotiate a deal to see American troops leave thecountry.*
The car bomb blast shook Shash Darak, a heavily fortified area adjacent tothe Green Zone and home to several important complexes including theNational Directorate of Security (NDS), the Afghan intelligence service.
Apparent surveillance footage of the attack, which occurred at about 10:10am (0540 GMT), showed a grey minivan explode just after it had cut in frontof a line of white SUVs waiting to make a right turn right onto a street.
One nearby pedestrian can be seen turning and trying to run away as theminivan crashed through a barrier just before the blast.
According to interior ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi, at least 10civilians were killed and 42 more wounded.
But Farid Ahmad Karimi, general manager at the Wazir Akbar Khan hospitalclose to the bomb site, told AFP that both civilians and security personnelwere among the dead and wounded.
On Twitter, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility forthe attack, saying a “martyrdom seeker” — suicide bomber — had triggeredthe car bomb and that 12 “foreign invaders” were killed.
There was no immediate word from the US-led NATO coalition about whetherany foreign forces had been involved.
Massoud Zazai, who owns a photo studio across the street from the blastsite, said he was in his shop when the explosion happened.
“I fell off my chair and it got dark inside the shop because of smoke anddust,” Zazai told AFP.
“I went out to the scene moments after the attack, the side of the road waslittered with debris and bodies.”
Through the smoke, Zazai said he could hear injured people crying andcalling for their mothers and brothers.
“I saw at least five very badly injured, one was covered in blood and notmoving. It was horrifying.”
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The attack was also close to where the Islamic State group killed ninejournalists in a blast in April last year, including AFP Kabul’s chiefphotographer Shah Marai.
*Growing unease*
On Monday, at least 16 people were killed in a Taliban attack on aresidential area in east Kabul.
The capital has been gripped by a surge in deadly violence even after theUS and the insurgents reached an agreement “in principle” that would seethe Pentagon pull thousands of troops from Afghanistan in return forvarious Taliban security promises.
But there is increasing unease about the deal, with Afghans fearing it willlead to a return of the Taliban to power, and a growing chorus of USlawmakers and officials expressing doubts.
According to parts of the deal made public so far, the Pentagon would pullabout 5,000 of its 13,000 or so troops from five bases across Afghanistanby early next year, provided the Taliban hew to their security pledges.
The insurgents have said they will renounce Al-Qaeda, fight the IslamicState group and stop jihadists using Afghanistan as a safe haven.
On Wednesday, the Afghan government expressed doubts about the prospectivedeal, saying officials need more information about the risks it poses.
Even as negotiations for an accord have entered what are widely consideredto be the final stages, violence has surged across Afghanistan.
On Saturday, the Taliban attempted to seize the provincial capital ofKunduz in the north and sporadic fighting has continued on the outskirtsall week, while on Sunday, insurgents launched an operation in the city ofPul-e Khumri, the capital of neighbouring Baghlan province. -APP/AFP
