Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play. Advertisement A suicide car bomber has killed 18 people - including five US soldiers - and injured 52 more in the deadliest attack this year on foreign troops in the Afghan capital. Most of the victims were Afghan civilians caught in the blast when the bomber targeted a Nato-led convoy. The bomber struck during rush hour close to the parliament. Taliban militants said they had carried out the attack, using a van packed with 750kg (1,650lb) of explosives. ANALYSIS Nick Childs, BBC defence and security correspondent
Nato is making no bones about the fact that it's trying to wrest the military initiative in Afghanistan back from the insurgents. So, in the battle for perceptions and hearts and minds, this will be a serious blow, with the high loss of life both of Nato troops and local civilians. It also highlights the fact that, despite increased efforts, it is impossible completely to eliminate such attacks. And such so-called "spectaculars", especially in the capital, remain a potent weapon for the insurgents, even as the Nato-led forces prepare to continue their own new strategy centred around retaking control in the south. Despite tight security, the suicide bomber managed to drive into the city in a car laden with explosives. The convoy was attacked on the Darulaman road, one of the main roads in the city. A spokesman for the Nato-led international peacekeeping force Isaf confirmed that six of its soldiers had been killed. Apart from the five US soldiers, one Canadian is believed to have been killed. Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen "strongly" condemned the attack, but said the alliance remained "committed to its mission to protect the Afghan people and to strengthen Afghanistan's ability to resist terrorism". Five military vehicles were damaged and more than a dozen civilian vehicles, including a bus, were also caught in the blast. The BBC's Mark Dummett in Kabul says that, as is often the case in such attacks, Afghan civilians seem to have borne the brunt of the explosion. Eyewitness Obiadullah Saddiqyar was on his way into work when the bomb detonated. He described the scene as "totally chaotic".
RECENT KABUL ATTACKS 26 Feb 2010: Explosions and gunfire in an area popular with foreigners leave 17 dead 18 Jan 2010: Taliban attack government targets and shopping centres, killing 12 15 Dec 2009: Six killed in suicide attack near hotel in Wazir Akbar Khan district 24 Oct 2009: Six UN staff and three Afghans killed in attack on UN guesthouse 8 Oct 2009: Suicide bomber attacks Indian embassy, killing at least 17 17 Sept 2009: Six Italian soldiers and 10 Afghans die in military convoy blast 18 Aug 2009: Suicide blast kills 10 in attack on Western military convoy
In pictures: Aftermath in Kabul He told the BBC: "I witnessed the bomb this morning at around 0815 [0345 GMT]. I saw many people dead and many injured who were taken to hospital. "Among the dead there were lots of women and girls - I heard later that they were students going to university. I also saw one of my colleagues full of blood in the back of a police car, also being taken to hospital. "This situation really made me cry for the bloodshed and the innocent people who were killed and injured." Afghan police have set up extra checkpoints throughout the city this year following a series of attacks by gunmen and bombers on government offices and hotels, our correspondent says. They say they have arrested several men planning suicide attacks but it is impossible to stop and search every car, so these attacks seem certain to continue, he says. Major offensive Afghan President Hamid Karzai described the attack as "heartbreaking". "We are condemning the attack in the strongest terms. I hope Afghanistan will soon get out of this suffering, God willing," he said at a news conference broadcast on national television. President Karzai has recently returned from a trip to Washington where he hoped to gather support for his policy of reconciliation with certain elements of the Taliban. Afghan officials are also preparing for a jirga (English: grand council) of tribal leaders, during which ways to promote peace in Afghanistan will be discussed. Meanwhile a military offensive in the southern province of Kandahar, a key Taliban stronghold, is being planned. Earlier this year Nato and Afghan forces launched a major offensive against militants entrenched in neighbouring Helmand province and security forces are still engaged in operations around Helmand. Nato and the US have deployed thousands of extra troops in Afghanistan, where numbers are expected to peak at 150,000 in August under a strategy designed to bring a swift end to the long-running insurgency. Are you in the area? Did you witness the attack? Send your comments using the post form below. A selection of your comments may be published, displaying your name and location unless you state otherwise in the box below. Name
Your E-mail address
Town & Country
Phone number (optional):
Comments
The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide.
Terms & Conditions
Bookmark with: Delicious
Digg
reddit
Facebook
StumbleUpon What are these? E-mail this to a friend Printable version
A car bomb attack this morning, which targeted a NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) convoy in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, has killed or wounded dozens of people. The death toll was not confirmed, and estimates range from ten to twenty deaths. 47 people were injured in the attack.

The incident occurred at the Darulaman crossroads, near a US-Afghan military base and the parliament. Six NATO troops died in the attack alongside several civilians. The NATO said they had sealed off the region. The bomber had been driving a car filled with explosives, which they detonated at around  0815 local time 0415 GMT.

Iain Baxter, a spokesman for Isaf (), stated: "An Isaf convoy was hit. At the moment we're trying to confirm the number of Isaf casualties." He could not confirm the number of Isaf personnel killed in the attack.

Zemarai Bashary, an Interior Ministry spokesperson, confirmed the attack, noting that "there are a number of casualties, civilians killed and wounded." The death toll is unclear, and we're checking all the hospitals," he added.

Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan, said it was a "heartbreaking" attack. "We are condemning the attack in the strongest terms. I hope Afghanistan will soon get out of this suffering, God willing," he commented on national television.

General Ahmad Zia Yaftali, the chief military doctor of the Afghan army, claimed twenty people had been killed. "We have five bodies brought to our hospital so far ... the number of the dead is more than 20," Yaftali told Agence France-Presse news agency.

Later, the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying a resident of Kabul, Nizamuddin, had been sent to "destroy five foreign vehicles and damage one more." "Today's attack was part of the Al Fatah operation and we will continue attacking foreigners and government security forces and their associates," Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesperson said. The latter had 1,500 pounds of explosives in his Toyota van. NATO officials said five US military convoys were destroyed along with a further thirteen public vehicles. One of the vehicles to be destroyed was a bus filled with people.