AFGHANISTAN:A SUICIDE bomber yesterday drove a car full of explosives into the gates of the Indian embassy in Kabul, killing at least 40 people in what Afghan officials described as the deadliest attack since the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001.
The Afghan interior ministry immediately accused a "regional intelligence service" of co-ordinating the attack - an unmistakeable reference to Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence, the ISI, whose agents have been blamed before for being behind terrorist incidents in Afghanistan.
Yesterday's attack came at a time when the new Pakistan government has been making conciliatory noises towards India and negotiating agreements with tribal leaders in areas where al-Qaeda and other groups are based.
The dead included India's defence attache, a senior diplomat, and two security guards at the embassy. The bomb exploded as people were queuing for visas at the embassy and shopping at a nearby market. About 140 people were injured by the blast.
The bomber rammed a car into two Indian diplomatic vehicles as they entered the gates of the embassy, according to witnesses. They said the blast scattered body parts over a wide area.
"The Interior Ministry believes this attack was carried out in co-ordination and consultation with an active intelligence service in the region," it said in a statement.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said: "With this cowardly attack the enemies of peace in Afghanistan wanted to hurt ongoing friendly relations of Afghanistan with the rest of the world, especially India. Such attacks will not hamper Afghanistan's relations with other nations."
Manmohan Singh, the Indian prime minister, said: "The loss of these precious Indian and Afghan lives . . . must be condemned in the strongest terms possible. Those responsible, directly or indirectly, for this terrorist attack and for making this possible are no better than the worst criminals."
One Taliban spokesman denied responsibility for the attack, although he appeared to be contradicted by others.
Pakistan denied Afghanistan's implied accusations that its agents helped to plan it, and said it condemned the attack. Analysts said the attack reflected Pakistan's concern about India's close relations with Afghanistan. India is one of Afghanistan's leading donors.
"This latest attack is very likely to fuel tension not least because Pakistan blames Afghanistan for allowing India to expand its influence," said Dr Farzana Shaikh, of the thinktank Chatham House, in London. She said the attack would cast a pall over talks later this week between Pakistan and India.
"The new Pakistani government is very keen to be seen to be reducing tension," she added.
If there was evidence that militant groups based in Pakistan were behind yesterday's attack in Kabul it would set back that process, she said.
British military commanders argue that suicide and roadside bomb attacks are evidence that Taliban leaders are on the back foot in their conflict with foreign troops. - ( Guardian service)