Car bomb kills 7 at NATO base in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) | A suicide car bomber struck near the front gate of NATO headquarters in Kabul on Saturday, killing seven people and wounding nearly 100 in a brazen daylight attack less than a week before Afghanistan’s landmark presidential election.

The blast, which occurred in Kabul’s heavily guarded diplomatic quarter, appeared aimed at frightening Afghans against participating in Thursday’s presidential election and demonstrating that insurgents can strike whenever and wherever they want.

A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the explosion, which rattled windows across a wide area of the Afghan capital and sent a huge mushroom cloud of dense, black smoke rising into the blue sky.

It was the biggest insurgent attack in Kabul in six months and shook public confidence in the extensive network of checkpoints and armed guards that maintain security in the city.

The bomber managed to evade several rings of Afghan police and detonated his vehicle about 30 yards from the main entrance to the NATO base, where top U.S. commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal has his headquarters.

Brig. Gen. E. Tremblay, the spokesman for the NATO-led force, said some soldiers in the International Security Assistance Force were wounded in the blast but did not say how many. Three Macedonian soldiers who were guarding the gate were slightly injured.

After the blast, bloodied and dazed Afghans wandered the street. They included children who congregate outside the NATO gate to sell gum to Westerners.

Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility and said the target was the NATO headquarters and the U.S. Embassy about 150 yards down the street. A top Kabul police official blamed al Qaeda because of the size of the blast.