January 4, 2011
Afghan Police Officer Killed by Blast in Downtown Kabul
By MICHAEL KAMBER
KABUL, Afghanistan -- A bomb exploded near the Defense Ministry in downtown Kabul during rush hour on Tuesday, killing a police officer and wounding another along with two civilians, the Interior Ministry said.
"The blast happened at 7:56 a.m.," said a French soldier at the scene who works in bomb disposal. "It was an artillery shell converted into a bomb. We don't know yet if it was detonated by a timer or by remote control."
Bombings are unusual in Kabul. The last major attack, against a guesthouse catering to Indians, [1] occurred nearly 11 months ago. This one was less than a mile from the presidential palace.
"It was not a big bomb," said the French soldier, who spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to speak to the news media. "They do it to terrorize people."
A police officer at the scene, who spoke anonymously for the same reason, said that the bomb had been hidden in a rice sack and left against the wall of a house in an alley. A local resident reported the suspicious object to a police post in a traffic circle 20 yards away, he said, and a community leader and several police officers ran to the site.
"The police commander rushed to the area along with two police officers to see what it was. The bomb suddenly went off while the commander was reporting it to his superiors on the radio."
Some witnesses said police officers were trying to defuse the device when it exploded. It was not clear why the officers approached the device rather than calling a bomb disposal squad.
Sangar Rahimi contributed reporting.
[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/27/world/asia/27kabul.html