A teenage suicide bomber blew himself up outside NATO headquarters in the Afghan capital on Saturday, killing at least six civilians in a strike that targeted the heart of the U.S.-led military operation in the country, officials said.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast, which was the latest in a series of insurgent attacks in the heavily-fortified Afghan capital aimed at undercutting a months-long campaign by the U.S.-led coalition to shore up security in Kabul before a significant withdrawal of combat troops limits American options.
While bombings and shootings elsewhere in Afghanistan often receive relatively little attention, attacks in the capital score propaganda points for the insurgents by throwing doubt on the government's ability to provide security even the seat of its power. The attacks also aim to undermine coalition claims of improving security ahead of the planned withdrawal of foreign troops by the end of 2014.
The bomber struck just before noon Saturday outside the headquarters of the U.S.-led NATO coalition, on a street that connects the alliance headquarters to the nearby U.S. and Italian embassies, a large U.S. military base and the Afghan Defense Ministry.
AP
A member of the Afghan security forces stands... View Full Caption
A member of the Afghan security forces stands guard at the scene of suicide bombing in Kabul Afghanistan, Saturday, 8, 2012. Afghan authorities say a suicide bomber has blown himself up near NATO headquarters in Kabul, killing at least 6 people (AP Photo/Ahmad Jamshid) Close
The alliance and police said all of the dead were Afghans, and the Ministry of Interior said some were street children. Kabul police said in a statement that the bomber was 14 years old.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the target was a U.S. intelligence facility nearby.
German Brig. Gen. Gunter Katz, the spokesman for the U.S.-led international military alliance, said there were no coalition casualties.
Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi blamed the attack on the Haqqani network, one of the most dangerous militant groups fighting U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan. He did not say what he was basing that conclusion on, but the Haqqani group, which is linked to both the Taliban and al-Qaida, has been responsible for several high-profile attacks in the Afghan capital in the past.
On Friday, the U.S. designated the Pakistan-based Haqqani network a terrorist organization, a move that bans Americans from doing business with members of the group and blocks any assets it holds in the United States.
The Obama administration went forward with the decision despite misgivings about how the largely symbolic act could further stall planned Afghan peace talks or put yet another chill on the United States' already fragile counterterrorism alliance with Pakistan.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mijahid said the decision will have no impact on the war against the Afghan government and U.S.-led forces, and added that the Haqqanis were part of the Taliban and not a separate group. He said its founder, Jalaluddin Haqqani, was a loyal member of the Taliban leadership council and a "person of trust" to the movement's leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar.
"It will not have a negative effect on our struggle and we are rejecting this announcement," Mujahid said in an email.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the blast, which was the latest in a series of insurgent attacks in the heavily-fortified Afghan capital aimed at undercutting a months-long campaign by the U.S.-led coalition to shore up security in Kabul before a significant withdrawal of combat troops limits American options.
While bombings and shootings elsewhere in Afghanistan often receive relatively little attention, attacks in the capital score propaganda points for the insurgents by throwing doubt on the government's ability to provide security even the seat of its power. The attacks also aim to undermine coalition claims of improving security ahead of the planned withdrawal of foreign troops by the end of 2014.
The bomber struck just before noon Saturday outside the headquarters of the U.S.-led NATO coalition, on a street that connects the alliance headquarters to the nearby U.S. and Italian embassies, a large U.S. military base and the Afghan Defense Ministry.
AP
A member of the Afghan security forces stands... View Full Caption
A member of the Afghan security forces stands guard at the scene of suicide bombing in Kabul Afghanistan, Saturday, 8, 2012. Afghan authorities say a suicide bomber has blown himself up near NATO headquarters in Kabul, killing at least 6 people (AP Photo/Ahmad Jamshid) Close
The alliance and police said all of the dead were Afghans, and the Ministry of Interior said some were street children. Kabul police said in a statement that the bomber was 14 years old.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying the target was a U.S. intelligence facility nearby.
German Brig. Gen. Gunter Katz, the spokesman for the U.S.-led international military alliance, said there were no coalition casualties.
Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi blamed the attack on the Haqqani network, one of the most dangerous militant groups fighting U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan. He did not say what he was basing that conclusion on, but the Haqqani group, which is linked to both the Taliban and al-Qaida, has been responsible for several high-profile attacks in the Afghan capital in the past.
On Friday, the U.S. designated the Pakistan-based Haqqani network a terrorist organization, a move that bans Americans from doing business with members of the group and blocks any assets it holds in the United States.
The Obama administration went forward with the decision despite misgivings about how the largely symbolic act could further stall planned Afghan peace talks or put yet another chill on the United States' already fragile counterterrorism alliance with Pakistan.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mijahid said the decision will have no impact on the war against the Afghan government and U.S.-led forces, and added that the Haqqanis were part of the Taliban and not a separate group. He said its founder, Jalaluddin Haqqani, was a loyal member of the Taliban leadership council and a "person of trust" to the movement's leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar.
"It will not have a negative effect on our struggle and we are rejecting this announcement," Mujahid said in an email.