Suicide bomber strikes near Kabul airport – officials

KABUL, Afghanistan – A suicide bomber Monday, January 4, struck a street leading to Kabul’s international airport, officials said, the latest in a wave of attacks on the Afghan capital.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing, which comes as Afghan forces battle to end an hours-long siege near the Indian consulate in northern Mazar-i-Sharif city.

“A bomber on foot detonated his suicide vest… near Kabul airport. There is no immediate information on casualties,” interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish told Agence France-Presse.

Danish said the target was a foreign forces convoy passing through the area but a police spokesman said he was not aware of that.

The bombing marks the latest assault on the war-scarred Afghan capital.

A Taliban suicide car bomber struck a French restaurant popular with foreigners in Kabul on Friday, killing two people in a New Year’s day attack.

Fifteen others were wounded in the attack on Le Jardin, an Afghan-owned eatery, which caused a piercingly loud explosion and left a building engulfed in flames.

And last Monday, a Taliban bomber detonated an explosives-packed vehicle near Kabul airport, killing one civilian in an assault targeting a NATO convoy.

The spike in violence coincides with a renewed international push to revive peace talks with the resurgent Taliban.

Afghanistan and Pakistan are set to hold a first round of dialogue between Afghanistan, Pakistan, the US and China on January 11 to lay out a comprehensive roadmap for peace.

Pakistan, which wields considerable influence over the Afghan Taliban, hosted a milestone first round of talks in July but the negotiations stalled when the insurgents belatedly confirmed the death of longtime leader Mullah Omar. – Rappler.com