Taleban claim Kabul attack on NATO convoy, 1 dead

The attack took place near the US Embassy, during early afternoon prayers.

US soldiers inspect the site of a suicide attack in Kabul, Afghanistan. Reuters
Update:  Taleban claims car bomb attack in Kabul; 1 dead
A suicide attacker driving an explosives-packed vehicle targeted a NATO military convoy in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Tuesday, killing at least one person and wounding up to 22, police, military and government officials said. 
“It was a suicide car bomber,” said Kabul deputy police chief Sayed Gulagha. The blast sent a huge plume of black smoke over the city and scattered glass and metal across the main highway to Kabul’s airport.     

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3:05 p.m. (1035 GMT) 
The Taleban have claimed responsibility for the suicide bombing that targeted a NATO convoy in Kabul on Tuesday. 
The claim came in a text message sent to The Associated Press. 
Interior Ministry spokesman Seddiq Sediqqi says one civilian was killed in the attack, which also wounded 19 people. 
The attack took place less than a kilometer (half mile) from the US Embassy. 
It comes as insurgents intensify their spring offensive, which was launched in April.     

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The latest news on a suicide attack in the Afghan capital targeting a NATO convoy on the Kabul airport road, near the US Embassy. 
2:30pm (1000 GMT) 
The chief health official for Kabul hospitals says 19 people have been wounded in the suicide blast in Kabul. 
Kabir Amiri says the wounded include four children and three women. 
The attack took place near the US Embassy, during early afternoon prayers. Embassy spokeswoman Heather Easton said all embassy personnel were accounted for. 
NATO spokesman US Army Col. Brian Tribus says “no coalition casualties were caused by the attack.” 
An eyewitness, Ahmad Farhad, says he saw a car ram into “the convoy of foreign forces.” He says vehicles were damaged and there were wounded everywhere, with “no one to help them.”     

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Kabul, Afghanistan — A suicide attacker driving an explosives-packed vehicle targeted a NATO military convoy in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Tuesday, police and a NATO official said.
Police on the scene said casualties were expected. “It was a suicide car bomber, there are casualties but it is too early to know the extent of the damage,” said Kabul deputy police chief Sayed Gulagha.
A spokesman for the NATO mission in Afghanistan, US Army Col. Brian Tribus, said that a coalition convoy had been attacked.
“We can confirm there was an attack on coalition forces. We are gathering information,” he said.
The explosion happened at 1.20pm. on the main airport road in eastern Kabul. The blast sent a huge plume of black smoke over the city.
It happened as government employees were leaving their offices and roads were choked with vehicles as the working day is shortened during the Holy month of Ramadan.
It comes a week after an audacious attack on the nation’s parliament, which highlighted the ability of insurgents, who have been fighting to overthrow the Kabul government for almost 14 years, to enter the highly fortified capital to stage deadly attacks.
Also on Tuesday, a suicide attack on the police headquarters of southern Helmand province killed up to three people and wounded more than 50, including policemen, officials said.
Omar Zawak, spokesman for the governor of Helmand province, said most of the injured in the Tuesday morning attack were women and children.
Police spokesman Farid Hamad Obaid said a car packed with explosives was driven into the back wall of the police headquarters in an attempt to breach a gate. All the gunmen fled the area, he said.
Also Tuesday in eastern Paktya province, three people were killed and one wounded when their vehicle hit a roadside mine, the provincial police chief Zalmai Oryakhel said.