Taliban suicide bomber strikes British diplomatic convoy in Kabul, killing 6, including 2 Britons, and wounding more than 30

(The Guardian) At least six people including a British citizen were killed when the Taliban launched a devastating suicide attack on a British diplomatic convoy on the outskirts of Kabul.

The convoy was travelling on the road between Jalalabad and Kabul – about three miles (4km) east of the heavily fortified British embassy – when a suicide bomber struck. The bomber’s Toyota Corolla vehicle exploded – hurling a British embassy SUV across the road and blowing off its roof. Debris was flung across a packed area including a crowded mosque.

Later on Thursday there was a second explosion in Kabul and reports of gunfire. A military commander told Reuters that a car bomb targeted a guesthouse for foreigners in the Wazir Akbar Khan area, where many embassies and international organisations are located. The Taliban claimed responsibilty.

The UK foreign secretary, Phillip Hammond, said that two British embassy workers died in the convoy attack. One was a British civilian security team member and the other an Afghan national working at the embassy. A second British member of the security team was injured, Hammond said. The private security firm G4S said both the dead security guard and his injured colleague were its employees. [...]

According to the Afghan interior ministry, the blast killed several Afghan bystanders and injured more than 30 people, including five children.

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