‘There was fire everywhere’
Explosion near embassies kills 90, wounds hundreds
Bombing at height of rush hour leaves capital in shock
The explosion from a suicide truck bomber rocked the fortified diplomatic area of the Afghan capital during morning rush hour Wednesday, blowing doors off their hinges hundreds of yards away and shattering windows the first week of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
“The blast shook my taxi. At first I thought Kabul has been hit by an earthquake,” said driver Mohammad Yasin, 29. “But the chaos and screams that followed suggested something more sinister.”
Yasin said a thick cloud of black smoke soon covered the area. At least 90 people were killed and 400 were wounded by the massive explosion.
“When the smoke cleared, I saw body parts and charred bodies strewn all over the road,” Yasin said. “Some of the survivors were running for help covered in their bloodied clothes, while those who could not move were screaming for help.”
Most of the casualties were civilians, including women and children, said Ismail Kawasi, spokesman of the public health ministry. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Masood Toarozai, who runs a tailor shop about 200 yards from blast site, said: “I had just opened the shop and was settling down with three of my employees when there was a bang. ... It felt like thunder. The glass on the shop’s windows broke. There was fire and dust everywhere.
“I saw many bodies lying on the road. Several of them were burnt,” Toarozai said. “Many more people were wounded. There were screams. As I was coming to grips with the situation, I realized that I, too, had been hit by a flying glass splinter.”
Chaos and confusion consumed the elite Amani Upper Secondary School, which is supported by Germany and is located a half-mile from the attack. Scared students burst into tears as teachers tried to comfort them. Some parents rushed to the school as news of the blast spread, causing more panic and hampering rescue efforts, officials said.
Najib Danish, a spokesman for Afghanistan’s Interior ministry, told USA TODAY investigators were examining surveillance footage from the area. He said more than 30 vehicles were destroyed or damaged in the explosion.
The BBC said Mohammed Nazir, one of its drivers, died after the attack. He was transporting BBC Afghan journalists to the British broadcaster’s offices in Kabul. Four BBC journalists were wounded, but their injuries were not thought to be life-threatening.
The bomb, hidden in a sewage tanker, exploded near the entrance to the German Embassy, police spokesman Basir Mujahid told Reuters. The target of the bombing wasn’t immediately clear. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said a security guard at the embassy was killed and some staff members were wounded.
“Such attacks do not change our resolve in continuing to support the Afghan government in the stabilization of the country,” Gabriel said.
The U.S. Embassy is about a half-mile away. The State Department said 11 American contractors were wounded, none with lifethreatening injuries.
President Trump spoke with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani after the attack, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson condemned it as a “senseless and cowardly act.”
Ghani said, “The terrorists, even in the holy month of Ramadan, the month of goodness, blessing and prayer, are not stopping the killing of our innocent people.”
“I thought Kabul has been hit by an earthquake. But the chaos and screams that followed suggested something more sinister.” Taxi driver Mohammad Yasin