It was a violent blast which woke up Kabul this morning. A kamikaze detonated a car bomb near the Indian embassy, wounding dozens of people and killing twelve.
The Indian foreign secretary, Nirupama Rao, says the embassy was clearly the target: “The suicide bomber came up to the outside perimeter wall of the embassy with a car loaded with explosives obviously with the aim of targeting the embassy.”
Rings a bell? Last year, on July 7th 2008 the insurgents had already targeted the Indian embassy, killing and injuring more than 100 people, including two Indian diplomats.
Since then the road in front of the embassy has been barricaded and the diplomatic compound is surrounded by a double layer of high-rise walls.
Even though Nirupama Rao states that she believes “that those measures have worked effectively and have been able to prevent what could have been a tragedy similar to what had occurred in July, 2008,” it is clear what the insurgents are trying to prove.
They want the Afghan people as well as the international community to know that they can strike anywhere in Afghanistan, even in central Kabul at rush-hour, despite reinforced security around their target.
An interesting timeline of deadliest attacks in Afghanistan, here.
Photo courtesy of AFP